Faculty of Arts in the Media: John Carroll Comments on President Xi Jinping's Recent Visit to Britain

Source: SCMP 

President Xi Jinping's much lauded state visit to Britain showed the host country has learned the lessons of Lord Macartney's failed trade mission 220 years ago - perhaps too well, in the eyes of some of David Cameron's critics.

An "ultra royal welcome" was afforded President Xi Jinping during his state visit to Britain last month. The considerable attention to etiquette and protocol paid by the hosts doubtless contributed to the success of the trip, and the heralding of a new "golden era" in Sino-British trade relations.

The positive impact of the lavish pageantry and obsequious attention heaped on the visiting Chinese delegation could not have contrasted more acutely with Britain's first diplomatic attempt to establish Sino-British trade relations, in 1793.

Professor John Carroll, of the University of Hong Kong's history department, is researching the Macartney and Amherst missions for his book "Canton Trade", which looks at commercial affairs in Guangzhou before the first opium war (1839-42). He seeks to demonstrate that more than a century of successful Sino-British trading relations with no serious altercations has been overlooked.

Please click on the following link for the complete article: http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1877753/kowtow-or-not-no-longer-question-when-britain-and-china-deal

Faculty of Arts in the Media: Jon Orman and Brook Bolander Commented on "word of the year" emoji of Oxford Dictionaries

Jon Orman and Brook Bolander, assistant professors in the School of English of the Factulty of Arts, were interviewed by South China Morning Post on Oxford Dictionaries' pick of "word of the year", namely the "face with tears of joy" emoji. By quoting the two scholars, SCMP writes that "[Oxford Dictionaries'] decision is a recognition that the definition of language and the way we communicate is changing and expanding."

"People are not using fewer words, it's a matter that pictures are now integrated smoothly and creatively into the text language we use," said Dr Jon Orman, an assistant professor of English linguistics at the University of Hong Kong.

"It's a really good example of how language expands as different communication technology makes more things possible."

Dr Brook Bolander, an assistant professor in the university's school of English, suggested that the "face with tears of joy" emoji was chosen because it reflected the idea of "laughing out loud" or "lol", and has a strong emotional intensity.

Please click on the following link for the full article: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1879981/lol-war-words-erupts-over-whether-oxford-dictionaries-should-name

Faculty of Arts in the Media: Time Out Interview with Dr Lisa Lim, Founder of LinguisticMinorities.hk

Time Out Hong Kong
Hong Kong Profiles

Dr Lisa Lim
Founder of LinguisticMinorities.hk
http://www.english.hku.hk/linguisticminorities-hk

It’s quite a statement for a twenty-something Hongkonger to ‘not have ever engaged with anyone from an ethnic minority background’. But that’s exactly what associate professor of English and coordinator of the Language and Communication Programme at HKU, Dr Lisa Lim, says is true of many students she encounters. We may be living in ‘Asia’s World City’, but there are persistent fears that Hong Kong’s language and culture continues to homogenise – alienating and denigrating the very thing that gives us our national identity.

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/74790/hk-profile-dr-lisa-lim-founder-of-linguisticminoritieshk.html

文學院傳媒報道：何家珩主持鄭欣宜講座 探討身體、性別和性取向關係

Stand News reported on the panel talk about body and gender politics given by Joyce Cheng, local artist and celebrity, and moderated by Dr. Jason Ho, assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature. Joyce is one of the very few local celebrities who openly supports gay rights and embraces homosexuality. She shared and discussed with Dr. Ho her viewpoints on femininity, sexuality, body consciousness, and the Hong Kong showbiz in relation to these issues.

立場新聞報道，香港藝人鄭欣宜應香港大學比較文學系講師何家珩所邀，到港大與學生對談身體與性別政治，並細訴自己逾十年來的轉變。

「由細到大， 肥 = 我」是鄭欣宜17個月前在Facebook撰寫的〈不再減肥宣言〉的首句，也許亦道出了很多香港人對欣宜的集體回憶。少女時期體重曾經達235磅，最輕時減到115磅，其間她流過很多淚水，經歷了很多傷害，最後她在〈不再減肥宣言〉結語：「請不要將自己快樂放在你的身形上。」

Source: Stand News

這篇文章至今已累積超過11萬讚好、近9,500分享，及後再推出歌曲《你瘦夠了嗎？》，在MV中以200磅體態做出直立式一字馬，讓更多人看到她的才華和努力，得到更多人的祝福和支持。

眼前的她不再和別人分享減肥心得，她分享的是幸福的心得，說幸福不等於亢奮，也非不斷地笑，而是得到「內在的和平」（peace with myself）……

何家珩在言談間，對欣宜如今所發放的幸福、正面氣場表示極之欣賞，更指她有潛質成為香港的Adele，「就係嗰種排除萬難、只唱好我嘅歌（的感覺）」，他又指，這種氣場是欣宜在瘦的時候所沒有的。

何家珩形容，欣宜的做法和作品有種「出櫃」意味……何認為，肥人和性小眾，所爭取的是殊途同歸，就是宣揚那種面對旁人冷語，仍然擁抱「關你咩事啫？」的態度，「gay、lesbian、肥人，都冇做錯事，但枷鎖同壓力係社會無形地加落嚟。」

瀏覽全文：https://thestandnews.com/personal/%E9%97%9C%E4%BD%A0%E5%92%A9%E4%BA%8B%E5%95%AB-%E4%B8%8D%E5%86%8D%E6%B8%9B%E8%82%A5%E7%9A%84%E9%84%AD%E6%AC%A3%E5%AE%9C/

文學院傳媒報道：蘋果日報訪問王向華博士 探討日本色情工業

兩大色情王國：美國及日本，業界在種類方面各走極端。著名社會學博士Gail Dines調查歐美色情工業，認為競爭日趨激烈，為吸引觀眾點擊，電影內容越見大膽激烈。香港大學講師王向華博士主力研究日本色情工業，發現近十年電影種類越來越多，因受到口味分眾化（demassification）影響，觀眾喜歡的類型變得分散，單靠一兩部電影難以吸引全部觀眾。但開拍多部電影成本高昂，近年電影公司亦愛玩噱頭來吸引觀眾，如「AKB48女星下海」、「某政壇要員或大學教授女兒擔正」等，亦有以虛擬實景作賣點的成人電影。

瀏覽全文：http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/special/art/20151104/19358433

Faculty of Arts in the Media: Frank Dikötter Discusses Historical Link to Shanghai Office's Deletion of Titles

Professor Frank Dikötter of the Department of History was interviewed by The Globe and Mail with regard to the new business practice of a Shanghai office.

In the Shanghai office of China’s biggest builder of homes and condominiums, the boss is no longer “boss.” Employees have instead been told to refer to their superiors by their names, or perhaps their nicknames, as Shanghai Vanke does battle on stifling bureaucracy and stultifying hierarchy...

The idea of striking titles is not new in China, where the lead-up to the Cultural Revolution saw the military under Mao Zedong delete all trappings of hierarchy. In their place was a mandate that everyone in uniform be called “comrade.”

“In June, 1965, all formal saluting, epaulettes, hard-peaked caps, medals, insignia of rank, tailored uniforms for officers and other privileges in the People’s Liberation Army were abolished. From a general all the way down to a soldier, every fighter had to wear a single red star on an identical cap,” said Frank Dikotter, professor at the University of Hong Kong whose books on China include a history of the Cultural Revolution.

But if the idea was to impose egalitarianism, it didn’t work. No one forgot who the generals were. “It’s an extraordinarily hierarchy-conscious society,” Prof. Dikotter said. And by 1968, China had become even more hierarchical than before, effectively transforming into a military dictatorship.

Please click on the following link for the full article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/in-one-shanghai-office-tearing-down-hierarchy-means-never-saying-boss/article27024090/

文學院傳媒報道：傅榮朗博士探討陸港政治文化與全球性難民議題

Source: SCMP

南華早報中文網就亞洲富國應如何協助紓解敘難民危機採訪港大文學院歐洲研究學者傅榮朗博士（Roland Vogt）。

傅榮朗表示亞洲國家應付出更多，例如捐款或接收難民。國家主席習近平早前承諾成立維和部隊，或反映中國將在全球事務方面發揮更大作用，不過傅榮朗認為，中國能否實踐承諾，仍然有待觀察。

他指出，這種人道援助文化一般彰顯於西方民主國家，在陸港政治文化中並不存在。如果陸港政府協助難民，很可能會引起人民批評。

他續說，亞洲國家的政治議程中，人權和全球責任的重要性都很低，因此這些國家都未有加入緩解敘利亞危機。

傅榮朗說：“我認為中國在調解工作方面也未有發揮更大作用，我想知道為什麼不這麼做。個別亞洲國家非常慷慨，積極投入援助工作，但即便如此，也仍未形成一種政治文化。”

自2012年以來，香港人合共向聯合國難民署捐贈了約720萬港元。

傅榮朗表示，內地所知的難民人數僅為25萬，當中大部份來自朝鮮。而中國的法律體系並未為這個國家做好應對難民的準備。

瀏覽全文：http://www.nanzao.com/tc/international/150ae72da20abed/ou-meng-zhu-gang-ban-shi-chu-zhu-ren-ya-zhou-fu-guo-ying-xie-zhu-shu-jie-xu-nan-min-wei-ji