-5-
(3) United States - Hong Kong Exchanges
The nature and extent of United States-Hong Kong cultural, education, scientific and academic exchanges, both official
and unofficial.
In the fall of 1991 Henry Catto, then Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dr. Charles Kao, Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). In the MOU both sides agreed to work toward the establishment of the Center for Hong Kong-American Educational Exchange, an independent organization that will seek to promote academic links between the United States and Hong Kong. The Center will open on April 27, 1993.
A major mission of the Center is to increase Hong Kong residents' understanding of the United States. It will offer workshops, seminars, and conferences on timely issues dealing with the United States, particularly as these issues affect Hong Kong.
The Center will include an American studies library. USIA has donated 7000 volumes to this library and will provide a small yearly grant to supplement the collection. Each year the Center will host a number of scholars-in-residence from the United States, and provide facilities for fellows from the PRC to pursue work in the field of American Studies. The Center is also host to the offices of the Institute for International Education (IIE), which provides educational advisory services to thousands of Hong Kong students wishing to study in the United States. USIA provides an annual grant to IIE that enables it to offer these valuable services.
USIA has agreed to provide a Fulbright Scholar each year to serve as the Director of the Center, and its Board of Governors is made up of prominent American and Hong Kong leaders from the business and academic communities. USIA and CUHK have provided seed funding to get the operation started, but basically the Center will operate on money donated by foundations, local and American businesses, as well as by private individuals.
For years the relatively small Hong Kong Fulbright Academic Exchange program has had separate status from that of the U.K. program. This year Hong Kong universities hosted three Fulbright professors and seven students. In addition, one Hong Kong professor traveled to the United States on a three-month study grant. USIS will work in the coming years to increase participation in the program by Hong Kong scholars. This will require funding from the Hong Kong government or from local private organizations. A Fulbright Commission or equivalent mechanism might make such fund-raising easier.
+
я
Page 30Page 31