Five sessions of the 2021/22 Policy Dialogue Series successfully held

Clockwise, from top left: Professor Naubahar SHARIF, Acting Head and Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, moderator for the session entitled “Identity: A real or packaged issue?” held on 30 April 2022, and speakers of the session —Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment, HKUST and Former Undersecretary for the Environment; Mr Jasper Tsang, Former President of the Legislative Council (2008 – 2016); and Professor Anthony Cheung, Research Chair Professor of Public Administration, APS, EdUHK.

Creating a constructive environment that facilitates positive impacts through the exchange of academic ideas and thoughts on policy is one of the overarching missions of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS). To achieve this, the department regularly holds various seminars to examine local and global policies that are responding to the changing needs of individuals and groups in Asia and beyond. As part of such efforts, the department has organised the major undertaking that is the Policy Dialogue Series since the 2018/19 academic year.

The Policy Dialogue Series has been co-organised by APS at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and the Division of Public Policy at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) since 2018/19. As part of the 2021/22 series, five online dialogue sessions were successfully held, the first of which took place on 6 November 2021, with the following four sessions held on 15 January, 19 February, 19 March and 30 April in 2022. The series was well-received with an average of 100 participants attending each online session.

These sessions featured Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, Research Chair Professor of Public Administration with APS, and Former Secretary for Transport and Housing, HKSAR Government (2012-17), as the principal speaker of the series. Professor Cheung was joined by other leading academics and speakers from their respective fields to discuss a wide range of critical contemporary social issues and public policy challenges facing Hong Kong.

To facilitate public policy discussions, distinguished scholars from Hong Kong and overseas were invited to share their insights on a range of topics, including the prospects of “One Country, Two Systems”, pandemic control, housing, regional integration, the outlook for the economy, and the identity of Hong Kong people.

All five of the 2021/22 public dialogue sessions have been uploaded to YouTube for public viewing.

Date	Topic and YouTube link	Speakers
6 November 2021	‘One Country, Two Systems’: Retreat or reboot?	Professor Anthony Cheung, EdUHK Professor Lui Tai-lok, EdUHK Dr Henry Ho Kin-chung, Founder and Chairman, One Country Two Systems Youth Forum Council Member of Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies
15 January 2022	Covid-19 Strategy at the Crossroads: Hong Kong and worldwide	Professor Anthony Cheung, EdUHK Professor Fung Hong Professor of Practice in Health Service Management, JCSPHPC, CUHK Professor Wu Xun, Professor, PPOL, HKUST
19 February 2022	Housing Affordability: A land, planning or political question?	Professor Anthony Cheung, EdUHK Professor Donald Low, Professor of Practice in Public Policy, PPOL, HKUST Mr Stephen Wong, Senior Vice President & Executive Director of Public Policy Institute, Our Hong Kong Foundation
19 March 2022	Regional Integration and Economic Future: Opportunities and threats within Greater Bay Area	Professor Anthony Cheung, EdUHK Professor Donald Low, Professor of Practice in Public Policy, PPOL, HKUST Professor Tang Heiwai, Professor of Economics, FBE, HKU
30 April 2022	Identity: A real or packaged issue?	Professor Anthony Cheung, EdUHK Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist, ENVR, HKUST Former Under Secretary for the Environment, HKSAR Government Mr Tsang Yok-sing Former President of Legislative Council, HKSAR