Bulletin Summer 1976

However, it may be said that on the whole there is still room for improvement and I wish in particular to make the following observations : (i) It is universally accepted that good academic journals should include a very prominent section on book reviews, but so far this section has been very weak with our Journal To rectify this position, more specialists should be invited to write reviews on new publications, which we could obtain through our own purchase or exchange with other institutions, a practice that should be encouraged. (ii) We shall try to invite more potential contributors to write for the Journal. (iii) We have received criticisms that too much attention has been paid to textual research. We should therefore try to publish more comprehensive and interpretive articles as well. We are hopeful that by raising the standard of the Journal, we may induce more members of the University to have their research findings published in it. The Journal would also benefit if more opportunities could be provided for our staff to do research and pursue further studies. Q. Finally, could you please tell us the plans for further development at the Institute of Chinese studies? A. To ensure the development of the Institute, we have formulated the following plans: (i) In research, we should employ more progressive and scientific methodology and, for more balanced coverage, perhaps more attention should be devoted to the contemporary period. (ii) As for publications, we plan to start a series of monographs. (iii) We also plan to increase the number of seminars, strengthen the link with overseas academic institutions, invite more visiting research fellows to come and implement by stages an exchange programme. Finally we must point out that there is a prerequisite for the realization of our plans: the availability of adequate funds. We can hardly proceed with any significant project without sufficient financial support. To solve the financial problem and establish a sound financial basis for the Institute, we must, as I said earlier on, urge the University to provide us with more funds while soliciting more donations. Art gallery, Institute of Chinese Studies