Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1979

Ms. Pismai Wibulswasdi Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology Chiengmai University Dr. Brian L. Foster Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology State University of N e w York at Binghamton Dr. Leland Y. Yee Chief of Psychological Services Oakland Unified School District Ms. Veronica Alzona Graduate Student in Political Science University of the Philippines The conference was officially opened on 25th July by Professor Bay-sung Hsu, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University. During the conference, participants discussed problems of understanding, adjustment and intergroup tension that arise when people interact as individuals or groups in multi-cultural and cross- national settings. They also met with Social Science Faculty members of the University. In his closing remarks, Dr. David Y. H. W u thanked the University for providing the necessary facilities and assistance which led to a fruitful conclusion of the conference. He looked forward to further opportunities of collaboration and interchange between the East-West Center and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Opening Remarks by Professor Bay-sung Hsu Ladies and Gentlemen, You have travelled a long way to come to The Chinese University of Hong Kong and attend this Conference on Interpersonal Interaction in Pluralistic Societies. O n behalf of The Chinese University, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all of you. M y colleagues and I at The Chinese University consider it an honour to have this opportunity to collaborate with the Culture Learning Institute of the East-West Center in jointly sponsoring this Conference. I understand that in these several weeks you will discuss problems of understanding, adjustment, and inter-group tension that arise when people interact as individuals or groups in multi-cultural and cross-national settings. To m y knowledge, this Conference is the first of its kind ever held in Hong Kong. I think that you have made a right decision to choose Hong Kong as the site for it, because all the problems you are going to discuss are being faced by the people not only in your countries but also here in Hong Kong. As you may have noted, the people in Hong Kong have diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Although more than 98 per cent of the population are Chinese in origin, the Chinese themselves are far from being homogeneous in composition. About a half of them were born in Hong Kong; the rest of them came in various time periods from different parts of China. The Chinese people are clustered into a number of dialect groups, such as Cantonese, Chiu- chow, Hakka, Hoklo, Taishanese, and Shanghainese, The non-Chinese people in Hong Kong are even more heterogeneous in ethnic origin; they came from many parts of the world ， including Britain, India, America, Australia, Portugal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, and West Germany, etc. Despite the fact that Cantonese and English are the major languages in Hon g Kong, a wide variety of local dialects and other languages are still used by many ethnic groups in Hong Kong. I believe, and I think most of you would agree with me, that ethnic diversity could be a source of strength and could also be a source of problems in a contemporary society; which direction it takes would have to depend on how the matter is tackled. I am very pleased to see that in this conference room is a group of experts from different countries, ready to exchange ideas and experience on such an important matter. I am sure that the research work you have done and the ideas you have generated would make significant contribution to the understanding of the life-styles and social organizations of the various language and ethnic groups, and their relationships, in Hong Kong and in other societies. I am confident that knowledge derived from this Conference will help improve interpersonal interaction in multi-cultural societies. Your deliberations will thus also contribute to the making of a more peaceful world in which, like it or not, most countries are pluralistic. The planning and organization of a conference require a good deal of work and conviction. In this connection, I would like to pay tribute to Dr. David W u of the East-West Center's Culture Learning Institute and to the staff of our University's Social Research Centre for their efforts in making this Conference possible. It is m y sincere wish that you wilJ find the coming weeks of dialogues and exchange of research findings beneficial to your future work and to the people in your own countries. N o w I have the honour to declare this Conference open.