Bulletin No. 2, 2016

News in Brief 47 Former US Treasury Secretary and Prof. Lawrence J. Lau on China Former US Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs CEO, Mr. Henry M. Paulson, Jr. (left), was invited to hold a public talk on ‘Dealing with China’ in conversation with prestigious Hong Kong economist, former CUHK Vice-Chancellor and Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics, Prof. Lawrence J. Lau (right) on 17 October. The talk was well received and attracted over 600 participants. The Chinese edition of Mr. Paulson’s bestseller Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower ( 《與中國打交道：親歷一 個新經濟大國的崛起》 ) was published by the Chinese University Press. Centre for Bioethics Hosted Inaugural Lanson Lecture The Centre for Bioethics invited Prof. Jonathan Glover, a leading philosopher who specializes in Practical Ethics and Professor of Ethics at King’s College London, to deliver the Inaugural Lanson lecture in Bioethics on 19th November. Under the topic ‘Two Concepts of Dignity: Decisions about Assisted Suicide, Genes and Embryos, Psychiatry’, Professor Glover contrasted two version of respect for dignity—about not humiliating people and about showing respect for someone’s moral standing, and considered some uses made of the ‘moral status’ version in bioethics. These include claims that we should respect the dignity of the embryo, dignity arguments against assisted suicide, and dignity objections to various genetic choices, including ‘enhancement’. University Lectures on Civility The University’s I·CARE programme presented two University Lectures on Civility in September and November to nurture students’ mind and spirit. On 21 September, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, the world famous Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, shared with 1,300 students, staff, alumni of the University and members of the public at the University Mall ‘The Journey to Joy’. Mingyur Rinpoche is extensively trained in the meditative and philosophical traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, and has had a lifelong interest in Western science and psychology. In his lecture, he pointed out that though we cannot reverse adverse situations, we can change our mind to respond to the problems encountered. The key point of feeling happier is to learn and care one’s mind which can be achieved by meditation. Mr. Chiang Hsun, a renowned Taiwanese writer, poet and painter, gave a lecture titled ‘In Solitude I Learn…’ on 24 November. He explored topics of lifelong goals and careers, success and adversity, with reference to Su Dongpo, a talented prose writer and poet, and a statesman in the Song Dynasty, who achieved great fame in literature but spent much of his life in demotion and banishment due to political feud. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche Mr. Chiang Hsun