Academic and cultural links between Hong Kong Baptist University (BU) and mainland institutions are set to improve following a donation of $3.5 million.
Businessman Dr Lee Shiu will sponsor an exchange programme with Beijing Film Academy, a youth counselling project, an essay competition and a scholarship for mainland students to complete three-year undergraduate courses at BU.
Baptist University president and vice-chancellor Dr Daniel Tse Chi-wai said the four projects would enhance interaction between the mainland and the SAR and set a course of close co-operation.
The exchange programme will enable students from the academy and BU to understand how the media, especially film production, developed in the SAR and the mainland and the factors that influence variations between the two.
'Exchange of knowledge and sharing of experience are crucial for film producers. They are allowed more creativity to produce good films,' Professor Leonard Li Chu, dean of the School of Communication, said.
'Film is one of the more effective channels among mass media for exposing our own culture to the world. It is so powerful that more people watch films than news and documentaries.' The nationwide essay competition will focus on technological advancement in the 20th century and help participants understand the factors that shaped society and culture throughout history. It is open to Hong Kong and mainland tertiary students.
'The development of high technology is very fast but the least involvement of China is the most interesting point,' Dr Lee said.