A feeling of nostalgia prevailed as a group of China experts attended a large-scale conference at Chinese University to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the University Services Centre for China Studies (USC) this month.
In a keynote speech, Ezra Vogel, of Harvard University, recalled some of the movers and shakers in both world and Hong Kong politics who have benefited directly or indirectly from the centre.
They included Steve Fitzgerald, the first Australian ambassador to China; Mike Oksenberg, a diplomat who played a key role in the normalisation of Sino-US ties, and David Wilson, the last civil servant to be governor of Hong Kong.
More importantly, the centre, which is now based at the university, has provided a place for scholars from around the world to conduct studies on China.
'What we learned here at USC became the core of the courses on contemporary China that we taught in universities around the world,' said Professor Vogel.
The centre's achievements are beyond doubt. Contemporary China studies have flourished as China has opened up to the world. Exchanges between Chinese and foreign scholars have mushroomed.
But as the panelists and participants discussed a wide range of topics, it was clear that the subject of contemporary China still remains a challenge to academia seeking to decipher the nation's dynamics.
