The Departmental Research Seminar Series is a regular forum series organised by the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) where academic and public sector practitioners have a dialogue with the University community and public. On 9 December 2016, Prof. James L. Perry shared with the University community on the new trends in public administration research and addressed issues on how to get published. Prof. James L. Perry is an Emeritus Professor with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, USA as well as a Visiting Professor with The University of Hong Kong. He pioneered research on public pay for performance, civic service and public service motivation. 
The Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and the Department of Social Policy & Social Work at the University of York, UK signed an agreement for academic collaboration today on 2 December 2016.
In the pursuit of excellence and purpose of disseminating knowledge, the academic collaboration will allow both education institutions to strengthen mutual understanding, to foster friendly cooperation and to promote academic collaboration and exchanges in areas such as: 1) Collaborative research and education programmes; 2) Develop exchange and professional development programmes for students, staff and faculty; 3) Conduct international conferences and workshops; 4) Cultural exchange through mutual assistance in the areas of education and research; and 5) Seek funding opportunities for joint activities that provide mutual benefit to each institution’s teaching, research and outreach programmes.
Prof. Chou Kee-lee, Chair Professor of Social Policy and Head of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) and Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) in a recent arrticle examines the correlation between wealth and elderly issues such as health, depression, hearing impairment, ailment/pain and overall life satisfaction. Read more...
Prof. Chou Kee-lee on Hong Kong People’s Preparedness towards Retirement
2016 November Prof. Chou Kee-lee, Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS) and Chair Professor of Social Policy and Head of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) discussed retirement preparedness of Hong Kong people at the AIA MPF Retirement Quotient press conference. Click here for details...
The Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) awarded four academic staffs the Dean’s Research Prize (Research Output) at its first assembly of the 2016/2017 Academic Year. Dr. Hu Zhiyong Fox, Assistant Professor and Dr. He Jingwei Alex, Associate Professor of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) received the prize for their outstanding research published in leading international journals. With an impact factor of 1.934, Urban Studies that published Dr. Hu’s article is widely regarded as one of the top journals in urban studies and affairs. Social Science and Medicine at which Dr. He’s article was published, has a five-year impact factor of 3.595 and is among the top journals in health policy. The two awarded single-authored research outputs can be found at:
Hu, F.Z.Y. (2015). Industrial capitalisation and spatial transformation in Chinese cities: Strategic repositioning, state-owned enterprise capitalisation, and the reproduction of urban space in Beijing. Urban Studies, 1-23. Sage Journals
He, J. (2014). The doctor–patient relationship, defensive medicine and overprescription in Chinese public hospitals: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey in Shenzhen city. Social Science and Medicine, 123, 64-71. Science Direct
Dr. Isabella Ng Fung-sheung, Assistant Professor of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and Principal Investigator conducted a research that revealed half of the Hong Kong people are misinformed about refugee and ethnic minorities issue. Dr. Ng indicated that the findings imply that the HKSAR Government should strengthen civic education in schools and it should also resolve the asylum-seeker and refugee issue with a steady, sensible and humanitarian approach.
Click here for details...
Read more from Standnews, Hong Kong Free Press (1), Hong Kong Free Press (2), SCMP, am730, inmediahk and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa...)
As a result of the low fertility rate, new immigrants, especially those coming from the Mainland, will continue to be the single most important source for population growth in Hong Kong. However, there is considerable doubt about how these new immigrants are integrated into the Hong Kong society as the territory is turning into a knowledge-based economy, with an employment structure emphasizing education and skills. The social, economic, cultural and political integration of immigrants is a dynamic process and human capital, perceived discrimination, acculturation strategy, and acculturative stress may act as major determinants and moderators in the process of different aspects of integration. For instance, immigrants with better education (i.e. human capitals) are more likely to find better-paid employment (economic integration) and through their working experiences they also manage to establish Hong Kong identity (cultural integration). To facilitate the integration of new arrivals is one of the major challenges faced by policy makers in Hong Kong. When tackling this issue, it is imperative for policy makers to first identify factors that are contributing to the social, economic, cultural and political integration of new immigrants. In this research project, our objective is to evaluate the social, economic, cultural and political integration and to examine how human capital, perceived discrimination, acculturation strategy and acculturative stress are contributing to the integration of immigrants. We have conducted follow-up interviews with representative sample of immigrants who were participated in a longitudinal study and a cross-section study, respectively. Read more...
Date: 11 August 2016 (Thursday)
Time: 2:30-4:00pm
Venue: B1-1/F-14, EdUHK, Tai Po, N.T.
Speaker: Dr. Isabella Ng Fung-sheung, Assistant Professor, Department of Asian and Policy Studies 
Alan Ho Kwan-lok, a student of the Bachelor of Social Science Education (Hons.) (Greater China Studies) Programme under the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) provided his commentary in the Ming Pao News regarding The Hong Kong Institute of Education's (HKIEd) retitling to The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) on 27 May 2016. He commented that EdUHK still has a long way to go before it can be considered as a full-fledged university.
APS People in the News – Prof. Chou Kee-lee on Public Housing Welfare and Poverty Line
2016 April Prof. Chou Kee-lee, Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS) and Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), interviewed on NOW TV News. Prof. Chou discusses the issues on public housing welfare and the poverty line in Hong Kong. See more...
The Council of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) on 7 April 2016 approved the appointment of Professor Lui Tai-lok, currently Chair Professor of Hong Kong Studies with the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, as Vice President (Research and Development) of the Institute with immediate effect. Concurrently, Professor Lui is Director of the Academy of Hong Kong Studies and Director of the Centre for Greater China Studies of HKIEd. HKIEd Council Chairman Mr. Pang Yiu-kai said, “We have every confidence in Professor Lui, who is held in high esteem in academia and civil society as a respectable public intellectual. Given his academic achievements and track record, we believe Professor Lui is the best person to lead the Institute in advancing the research and knowledge transfer areas”. HKIEd President Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung said, “I am most pleased to welcome Professor Lui to the senior management team at this important juncture. I trust that he will be able to foster an even more vibrant research culture and environment and bring our research to a higher level”. Professor Lui joined the Institute in 2014 and was Acting Vice President (Research and Development) from July 2015. Prior to joining HKIEd, he was Professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) where he was also Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2010-2011) and Head of the Department of Sociology (2011-2014). Professor Lui taught at Hong Kong City Polytechnic (1986-1988) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1988-2009) and obtained his BA and MPhil in Sociology at HKU and then an MPhil and a DPhil at the University of Oxford. Professor Lui has researched widely and published on topics including class analysis, economic sociology, urban sociology and Hong Kong society. He also actively contributes to the Hong Kong community by serving on various governmental and professional committees as well as those related to social services.
The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) offered its first-ever two-day boot camp on social innovation held on 30-31 January 2016. Academic staff of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) and first-year students of the Bachelor of Social Science Education (Honours) (Greater China Studies) [BSocScEd(GCS)] Programme received intensive training on leadership and creativity at HKIEd's Tai Po Campus and Tseung Kwan O Study Centre. The boot camp was led by Mr. Vipin Thek, Director of Youth Years at Ashoka's Youth Venture. Participants were guided to identify their passion and decide what social issues they would like to address. At the end of the camp, they shared their action plan with the academic staff and created Facebook pages to advocate their causes. The students expressed that the training had equipped them with leadership skills and allowed them to explore their interests in social innovation. This event is one of the many activities that the APS Department has organized to empower students as innovative agents for positive social change.
The 3rd International Conference on Social Policy and Governance Innovation was held from November 28 to 29 2015 in Guangzhou. This series conference is a joint initiative of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and the School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology. Prof Lui Tai-lok, Acting Vice President (Research and Development) of HKIEd and Chair Professor of Hong Kong Studies, APS opened the conference. Prof Chou Kee-lee, Head of APS and Chair Professor of Social Policy delivered a keynote speech on retirement protection policy in Hong Kong.
According to a recent survey funded by the Central Policy Unit - Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, it was found that 20% of Hong Kong people still do not understand annuity plans. Professor Chou Kee-lee, Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and principal investigator suggested that the lack of popularity of annuity products may be related to a lack of concern about the problem of the aging population. For more information, please see attached for details.
Professor Chou Kee-lee, Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) and principal investigator interviewed Hong Kong MPF scheme members (40 to 64 years of age) to learn of their understanding of annuities and acceptance level towards the annuity design. It was found that 20% of the respondents after given a brief introduction still did not understand the annuity plans. For more information, please see attached research findings.
Professor Chou Kee-lee, Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS) and Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) was invited as a panel member for the AIA MPF 8th Inter-school Debate Competition.
Three Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) academic staffs received the Early Career Scheme (ECS) research grant for 2015-16 from the Research Grants Council (RGC). The RGC through the University Grants Committee (UGC) advises the HKSAR Government on the needs of higher education institutions in Hong Kong in the field of academic research. Congratulations go to:
- Dr. Brian Fong Chi-hang (Assistant Professor) for his project titled "Application of Open Budget Survey Methodology: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan"
- Dr. Hu Zhiyong (Assistant Professor) for his project titled "The Uneven Growth of a Knowledge-based Economy and Income Equality in Chinese Cities"
- Dr. Lee Siu-yau (Assistant Professor) for his project titled "Nation Building, Beliefs about Group Malleability and Inter-group Relations in Hong Kong"
According to a recent finding, over 50% of new immigrants to Hong Kong felt discriminated by Hong Kong people. The principal investigator of the survey, Ms. Isabella Ng Fung-sheung stressed that the tension between Hong Kong and Mainland people has reached an alarming level and call for appreciation of these arrivals in order to promote a healthy multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment. For more information, please see attached for details or click below.
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK): http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20150602/news_20150602_56_1104431.htm http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/expressnews/20150602/news_20150602_55_1104388.htm
Nextmedia (Apple Daily): http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20150603/19170761
A survey conducted by Ms. Isabella Ng Fung-sheung of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) examined the level of acculturation of new immigrants and the problems that they encounter in Hong Kong. The results revealed that over 90% of respondents did not participated in any community activities. It was also found that over 70% of the respondents spoke fluent Cantonese and only 60% used Cantonese to communicate while 26.3% used their own dialects to communicate with family members and friends. The survey further revealed that over 50% of the new immigrants felt discriminated by Hong Kong people at one time or another. For more information, please see attached for details.