CityU president analyses the imbalances of modern world
City University (CityU) president Chang Hsin-kang said the imbalances of the modern world have led to trade competition and imposition of one's ideas on others. Professor Chang made the comment during a discussion with Pakistani scholar Anis Ahmad in Hong Kong last week.
An expert in biomedical engineering, Professor Chang is deeply interested in Islam. He delivered a lecture series on Islam and China last October. Professor Ahmad, currently vice-chancellor of Riphah International University in Islamabad, is also the editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal, West and Islam.
During the discussion, Professor Chang analysed the imbalances of the modern world, characterised by the fact that 'some parts of the world have larger voices and better means of projecting their views to the other parts of the world'.
When two value systems meet, competition - whether in the form of trade or in the imposition of one's ideas on others - might occur, he said.
Professor Ahmad believed academics could play a key role in promoting mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds, and provide room for cultural diversity.
When asked how Islamic society has responded to
the challenges of the contemporary world, Professor Ahmed said: 'The Islamic structure is not a limited structure ... We cannot obtain ready-made solutions simply by adopting the methodologies of others.
'We should adapt ideas from the West and develop our own. Adaptation is the secret of progress; adoption is the death of progress.'
