FUNG
FUNG SCHOLARS SCHOLARS NETWORK NETWORK NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER JULY 2019
Message from the Editor Welcome to the 15th edition of the Fung Scholars’ Network Newsletter! This edition brings together a range of topics from arts & culture to current social affairs. Everyone on the team hopes you’ll enjoy reading it and find something to pique your interest. This edition of the newsletter also marks a new era. As many of you will no doubt know Tammy Lam has moved on from her position at the Victor and William Fung Foundation. Ms Lam has been a fixture of Fung scholars’ email inboxes for more than 6 years and we thought it would be appropriate to take this opportunity to thank her for her hard work and wish her all the best in her future career. On the flip-side of the same coin, we are also welcoming Erin Li who will be replacing Ms Lam! The Victor and William Fung Foundation has created an amazing network of talented alumni across a huge range of fields and geographies. The articles in this edition aspire, as always, to capture a snapshot of that diversity of talent. If you think you have a subject you’d like to write about, whether you’re published or interested in starting out, please don’t hesitate to write in and contribute for the next edition. Finally, as editor-in-chief, I’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the team of editors, writers, and designers who contributed to this edition. The start of summer is always a busy time, with exams, graduations, and internships, so thanks again for making the time to give something back to the Victor and William Fung Foundation, who have supported us all so generously. Stanley Mitchell (FS2015-16, University of Oxford)
Table of Contents The Editorial Board would like to thank all the writers who have contributed to the diverse topics and opinions included in this newsletter. We would also like to add that the Editorial Board and the Victor and William Fung Foundation take no responsibility for the views expressed in this publication.
Message from the Editor-in-Chief 2 Community Updates
Hong Kong Chapter update: Hong Kong Fung Scholars’ MC Workshop 5 An Update from Magdalena Kohut 8
Global Affairs
Climate Change - Where are we heading to? 13 Sexual Minorities in Hong Kong and Taiwan Taiwan as the pioneer in promoting LGBT rights in Asia 16
Culture and Arts
Decoding Gestures: Peter Sellars’ Intercultural Experiment of Peony Pavilion 19
Education and Opportunities
University of Tokyo: Global Outreach 25
Editorial board 28
COMMUNITY COMMUNITY UPDATES UPDATES
COMMUNITY
UPDATES
COMMUNITY
01. UPDATES
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As an experienced and passionate MC, Miss Iki Yeung (FS 2008-09, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) organized an interactive MC workshop to share her experience and insider tips on February 24, 2019. Not only did the attendees get to learn more about the role of an MC, they also got to practice what they have learnt under the guidance of Iki.
Hong Kong Chapter Hong Kong Fung Scholars’ MC Workshop Cheung Ming Ming
Iki’s MC journey first began when she was selected to be an MC for her secondary school’s singing contest. Having discovered the joy of hosting events, she undertook a professional MC training course and exposed herself to numerous MC opportunities at a wide range of occasions, such as at a wedding, a business conference, an annual dinner and an award ceremony. These experiences have brought her a sense of fulfillment, as well as plentiful job opportunities.
Here are 3 tips that Iki shared during the MC workshop:
1.
Preparation is the key to success. Getting butterflies in your stomach is totally normal on stage. Good preparation can help ease the nerves. Studying information about the event and making sure of the pronunciation of people’s name can save you from awkward situations. Most importantly, grab the chances to practice more on stage.
2.
Embrace changes and challenges. As the saying goes, “There is nothing permanent except change.” There is a 95% chance that the event will go beyond your expectation. Take a deep breath and respond calmly to the situation. Reflect and learn from the experience.
3.
Look sharp and smart on stage. Wearing colorful clothing is an effective way to grab audience’s attention. Interacting with the audience not only shows your confidence, it also fosters positive engagement and participation. Also, don’t forget to smile.
This MC workshop has provided some insights for a number of local Fung Scholars. Iki hopes to share her experience with a wider group of audience in the near future.
An update from
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Dear Fung Scholars, You may already know me from a couple of the previous Newsletter editions, in which I shared my thoughts and experiences. Recently, I have reunited with Tammy upon her leaving the Foundation and she encouraged me to share some words about my current life and the impact of the Foundation on it. I studied Chemistry at Worcester College, Oxford, where I became a Fung Scholar in 2015. The Fung internship took me to Hong Kong, where I worked for one month at the Hang Seng Management College
supporting the President´s Office as well as the Careers´ Office. It was an unforgettable experience and the first time that I was away in a different culture so far from home for so long. It has certainly opened my eyes to a lot of foreign traditions and a different way of life. Following the internship my engagement with the Fung Foundation took me to further destinations such as Singapore, again Hong Kong and lastly Hangzhou on three consecutive Leadership Conferences, where I got to interact with many other Fung Scholars. At the last conference I was also a speaker at the entrepreneurship panel.
All this foreign experience meant that having graduated from Oxford I didn´t fear to make a big jump into the unknown and I moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where I started working as a researcher in Organic Chemistry at the University of Auckland. Quite soon after my arrival I got in contact with a local Fung Scholar, Yaki – one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. She is a dedicated environmentalist and we started talking about different environmental problems, one of them being the fashion industry. We ended up setting up a social enterprise called Conscious Layers with four other women, which provides sustainable alternatives to the exploitative practices of the mainstream fashion industry, and fashioning the reuse economy through experiences – popularizing repair, restyle and the redesign of used clothes. Having focused on both the research and the enterprise for a year, I eventually decided to leave research in Chemistry and concentrated more on Conscious Layers for several months before my path took me to my next stop - Germany.
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It is great to be researching start-ups and in the future I hope to work with entrepreneurs more directly – helping people to turn their dreams into reality.
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During my exposure to the world of startups and entrepreneurship in Auckland, I soaked in the atmosphere of agility and innovativeness and was keen to position my career more in these fields. Hence, I found work as a researcher in the innovation management group of the business administration institute of the science department at the University of Münster. It is soon coming up to a year since I have been here and I couldn´t be happier. My research spans topics such as collaboration between start-ups and incumbent firms, industry convergence, and business model innovation. In one of my current projects, I am investigating how corporate venture capital units work in order to achieve their
Middle [left] Magda Kohut, middle [right] Yaki Wo (FS2007-08, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
financial goals, develop new and valuable technologies for the parent company, as well as enhance the entrepreneurial capability of the parent company. It is great to be researching start-ups and in the future I hope to work with entrepreneurs more directly – helping people to turn their dreams into reality. The Fung Foundation and the wide circle of scholars, which forms our fantastic community, have made being where I am now possible! If you are ever nearby in Germany, or looking for career advice or just want to chat, don´t hesitate to drop me a line. I am always keen to spread our community spirit further!
GLOBAL GLOBAL
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AFFAIRS AFFAIRS GLOBAL AFFAIRS GLOBAL AFFAIRS
02.
Climate Change— Where are we heading to?
Tahira Tazreen
“Bengal Tigers May Not Survive Climate Change” “A Third of the Himalayan Glaciers Will Melt by the End of the Century, a News Report Finds” “Mount Everest: Dead Bodies Appearing due to Melting Glaciers” “Climate Change Will Steal Some of Ireland’s Most Cherished Heritage Sites” Shocking as it may seem, these are the news headlines that I found frequently in recent times. Being an economically, and technologically dominating habitant of the earth, we, human beings, sometimes tend to forget that the power we possess is not necessarily meant to destroy the natural balance of earth. Rather, we are the ones who are responsible to take care of the earth—the one and only planet in the universe that hosts us. Unfortunately, as the above news headings suggest, we have failed to preserve the nature and the inhabitants. Whether we admit it or not, the more we are destroying the nature, the more we are putting our lives at stake. We cannot refuse the fact that technological advancement has been one of the most important factors that plays a role in promoting civilization throughout the world. We also cannot deny the fact that there are lots of natural resources to be extracted. Human beings have been innovative in making those natural resources
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Whether we admit it or not, the more we are destroying the nature, the more we are putting our lives at stake.
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useful for their own benefit. However, as responsible individuals, we have to keep in mind that there is a fine line between necessity and extreme luxury. Let us consider an example—a simple and a pragmatic one. We have been cutting trees and chopping off woods for our benefits since ancient times. Using our innovative minds, we have been brilliantly using these natural resources in thousands of ways. However, problems started when we focused only on consumption rather than making a balance between consumption and preservation of natural resources. Instead of reminding ourselves the fact that we need trees to continue supplying ourselves with oxygen so that we can survive, we became fully indulged in the process of industrialization and urbanization. In an article published by “Earth Day Network”, a US based environmental activism platform, it mentioned that deforestation is one of the most
vital leading causes of global warming, and that deforestation increases the emission of green house gas by 24%. Furthermore, they mentioned that reducing deforestation is so far the most efficient and cost effective way to decrease the devastating effects of climate change. As it says, nature has its own ways of doing things. We have already started to experience the harsh reality—a rising global temperature. A tiny change in temperature is devastatingly strong enough to upset the ecological balance of earth. In an article in New York Times, the writer referred to a report published in the journal “Science of the total environment”, in which scientists from Australia and Bangladesh expressed concern that Royal Bengal Tigers, a rare species of tiger, may no longer be found in Sundarban—the world’s largest mangrove forest. Several studies have suggested
that if we cannot take immediate actions to reduce the emission of green house gases, the global temperature will rise by 1.5 degree Celsius by 2040. It may sound like a negligible amount in terms of numbers, but according to reports of International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a slight change in temperature is enough for the Antarctic glaciers to melt. According to the IPCC report, as a result of melting glaciers, there will be a rapid rise in the sea level which can make it very difficult for lots of species to survive. A total number of 700 species of different mammals have become extinct as an effect of climate change. Low lying countries like Bangladesh are one of the high-risk regions that is exposed to great risks of climate change. As a developing country with more than 160 million populations, Bangladesh is already one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world.
References
And now, the country is under the threat of climate change that poses risks on Bangladesh. Climate change induced forced migration is expected to take place in that region in a large scale. It will cause political and economical effects on its neighboring countries. It is high time we started working to reduce the effects of climate change. It will be, indeed, very challenging to fight against the countless destruction that is to happen. However, although it is already too late to realize the demolition we have caused to nature, we can still hope to minimize the effect. We should keep in mind that if we fail to save the earth from being more vulnerable to our mistreatment of environment, we will make it way more difficult for the next generation to fight against disasters and calamities, and they will suffer for something they are not responsible for.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/science/tigers-climate-change-sundarbans.html https://www.earthday.org/2017/02/16/new-study-proves-climate-changes-threat-endangered-species/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html?module=inline https://www.ipcc.ch/search/?search=bangladesh https://www.earthday.org/campaigns/reforestation/deforestation-climate-change/
Taiwan as the pioneer in promoting LGBT rights in Asia
Rights of Sexual Minorities in Hong Kong
Waving the LGBT pride flag and cheering Pong Bong sticks with rainbow patterns, thousands of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) advocates cheered outside Taiwan’s Constitutional Court which ruled in favour of same sex marriage in February 2019. Taiwan is one of the twenty two countries which support same sex marriage. Within the same year, Taiwan passes the bill for recognizing transgender people in national identity documents. Through legalizations and support from the government, Taiwan becomes the first beacon for sexual minorities in Asia. The movements of LGBT at present might take more time for the recognitions of Hong Kong people.
Sexual Minorities in Hong Kong and Taiwan Wong Sze Man
Homosexuality was criminalized before 1991. The age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual was equalized in 2005. There is currently no legal protection against discrimination on sexual orientation in Hong Kong, unlike pregnancy, disability and racism. At present, the legislation in Hong Kong only permit female and male for marriage. For those who are in the transgender category , it is an obligation to undergo full gender reassignment surgery. However, a case changed the legislation in Hong Kong in 2013. In order to gain civil marriage recognition, a man conducted gender reassignment surgery and became a lady (Ms W). Their marriage unfortunately was refuted by the registrar as he was born male as stated in his birth certificate. Ms W eventually won the case and transgender people are granted the right of marriage in Hong Kong after complete surgery. It remains controversial for the gender identity documented in the birth certificates, identity cards and passports for transgenders. Birth Certificate, as an important document for marriage, hinders the couples from enjoying social rights as heterosexuals. The case bought the right of sexual minorities into light in Hong Kong.
Rights of Trangender people in Taiwan The first same-sex marriage bill among Asia was passed in Taiwan in February 2019. Homosexual couples in Taiwan would have similar right as heterosexual couples, unlike the case in Hong Kong which same sex marriage is not yet legalized. In the new legislation, homosexual couples have the right to inherit property, the right to enjoy medical service, even to adopt children. Apart from the legalization for same sex marriage, Taiwanese government is considering passing the bill on the new national electronic identification card (eID) in 2020. It further enhances the rights of transgender people. Taiwan act as the pioneer in recognizing the identity of transgender people in Asia through legislating same sex marriage and implementing eID policy.
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When compared to the Western countries, Asian regions seems relatively repressive on LGBT movements. In China, homosexuality seems like a deviant without legalization in same-sex marriage and other granted rights. In 2018, India legalized the sexual intercouse of homosexual . In southeastern regions, some countries even involve serious penalties and fine for same sex marriage and homosexuality. Through passing the bill of homosexual marriage in Taiwan, the rights and movements of LGBT is being promoted in Asia.
When compared to the Western countries, Asian regions seems relatively repressive on LGBT movements.
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CULTURE CULTURE && THE ARTS THE ARTS CULTURE & THE ARTS CULTURE &
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Decoding Gestures: Peter Sellars’ Intercultural Experiment of Peony Pavilion Huimin WANG
The eternal theme of love in Tang Xianzu’s The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting 牡丹亭) has attracted numerous adaptors, including Peter Sellars. Studying from the perspective of intercultural theatre, I decode the meaning of gestures in Kun opera, naturalistic theatre and modern dance. This paper argues that gestures of different cultures are employed to depict the same emotion of forbidden love. As an intangible cultural heritage, Kun opera awaits both protection and innovation. Through this case study, I am seeking a way to modernise Kun opera so as to attract younger generations. Before moving on to a detailed analysis, I will briefly introduce Tang Xianzu, the playwright of The Peony Pavilion, his magnum opus and Peter Sellars, the theatre director. Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) is a Chinese dramatist of the late Ming dynasty, whose works include five plays,
hundreds of poems and a novel. He is most noted for his depiction of love in The Peony Pavilion. The play centres around maiden Du Liniang (杜麗娘) and Liu Meng-mei’s (柳夢梅) love story which transcends life and death in 55 scenes. In Scene 10 ‘The Interrupted Dream’ (jing-meng 驚夢), Liniang in her dream encounters Scholar Liu Meng-mei for the first time and has sexual intercourse with him; she later dies because of lovesickness. In Scene 28 ‘Union in the Shades’ (you-gou 幽 媾), Liniang’s ghost visits Scholar Liu and asks him to help her resurrect. Peter Sellars (1957- ) is an American director who is noted for his avantgarde interpretations of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Staging Peony Pavilion is said to be part of his effort to reawaken Kun opera. His production, however, has never been performed in China, and its influence is limited to a few scholars in the field of theatre studies.
Michael Schumacher
Hua Wen-yi 华文漪
What is Love? Western ‘Love’ and Chinese ‘Qing’ Chinese ‘qing (情)’, according to Feng Menglong (A.D. 1574 - 1646), is ‘the ultimate cosmological reality, from which all forms and the generation of life are derived’ (Cheung, 477). In Tang Xianzu’s own words, ‘[qing] is of source unknown, yet it grows ever deeper. The living may die of it, by its power the dead live again.’ (trans. Birch, ix) Chinese ‘qing’ has the power to transcend life and death, thus its allencompassing power distinguishes itself from the Western ‘love’, which is a combination of four distinct Greek words of love ‘agápe-éros-philiastorge’. The differences between Chinese ‘qing’ and Western ‘love’ showcase culturally specific interpretation of the same romantic emotion. ‘[I]n a names that which we call a Rose, / By any other word would smell as sweete’ (Shakespeare, 675). Though the naming of this emotion is culture-specific, both notions—Western ‘love’ and Chinese ‘qing’— are interpretations of the same passionate feeling like ‘a red, red rose’, as in Robert Burns’ word (6). The depiction of forbidden love is the focal
point of Sellars’ Peony Pavilion. His production features triple pairs of actresses and actors who play the leads, Du Liniang and Liu Meng-mei. The first pair is Hua Wen-yi (華文漪), a maestro of Kun opera, and Michael Schumacher, a performing artist with roots in classical and modern dance; the second pair is Lauren Tom and Joel de la Fuente, who are both American actors; the third pair is soprano Huang Ying (黄英) and tenor Xu Lin-qiang (徐林强). As the casts and creatives are from a diverse background, the language is a mix of Kun opera aria singing, spoken English and Western opera singing. The international perspective kindles a non-traditional interpretation of this four-hundred-year-old play. Catherine Swatek comments that Peter Sellars’ Peony Pavilion is ‘experimental and conceptually challenging.’ (232) Sellars challenges the fossilized construction of Liniang’s character as an innocent fair maiden. Instead, he emphasizes her sexual desire by having the three actresses seduce their own lover in an erotic manner.
The Gestural Code of Forbidden Love Part One in Sellars’ Peony Pavilion features two casts of Liniang and Scholar Liu simultaneously. Hua Wen-yi is the embodiment of traditional Chinese beauty whose feeling is manifested in an implicit manner. As a lovelorn high-born lady, her most overt gesture that signals her inner sexual desire is slowly lowering down her body against the Plexiglas screen for three times. This is part of the conventionalized gestures in Kun opera which ‘derive from the actions of daily life but have gradually become graceful dance movements through a long process of refinement and beautification […]’ (Zhang, 159). She is like a Chinese ink-wash painting whose elegance is encased by dim beauty.
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The differences between Chinese ‘qing’ and Western ‘love’ showcase culturally specific interpretation of the same romantic emotion.
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In contrast, Lauren Tom is a precocious American youth whose fidgeting movement mirrors modern people’s anxiety. To depict Liniang’s longing for love and sex, Lauren lies on the Plexiglas bed with a sleeveless top, and poignantly writhes her body. Her gestures are an erotic indication of masturbation and her restless movement is a naturalistic representation of Liniang’s sexual impulse. Hua Wen-yi’s symbolic performance and Lauren Tom’s realistic fashion complement each other and reveal the multiplicity of Liniang’s character. From an intercultural perspective, Hua’s gestures represent Chinese women’s bashful attitude towards sex, while Lauren is a typical American youth who is open about their feelings.
徐林强
Moving on to Part Two ‘Three Nights of Making Love to A Ghost’, another pair of Liniang and Scholar Liu is introduced onstage, namely the soprano Huang Ying and tenor Xu Lin-qiang. As the title indicates, the second part is centred around the protagonists’ premarital sex. The three casts’ gestures of sexual intercourse provide a glimpse of culture-specific gestural codes. Hua Wen-yi and Michael Schumacher’s handplay is a perfect illustration of the sensation of touch. Hua seduces her Liu Meng-mei with suggestive hand gestures, and Schumacher in turn flirts with Hua by using his flexibly moving fingers. Karim-Cooper argues that the hand is an important site of erotic fantasy due to ‘its consciousness, attractiveness and, most enticingly, its texture’ (171). Hua’s soft and gentle hands are elevated as symbols of desire and female sexuality, and thus her touching Schumacher’s hand suffices to represent sexual intercourse in high-context Chinese culture. Huang Ying and Xu Lin-qiang’s sex scene is indirectly represented as their body are wrapped in a red cloth. This enhances the sensual amour to the visual stage; further, their love duet endows the visual space with aural dimension. This pair’s performance works as a transition from Hua-Schumacher’s implicit manner to Lauren-Joel’s explicit way of having sex onstage. The three pairs’ gesture differences are like a continuum that reflects varying cultures from low-context to high-context ones.
Further Thoughts on Reinvigorating Kun Opera Sellars’ production is visually challenging as the traditional costume and make-up are replaced by modern clothing. Instead of wearing Kun opera’s loose costumes, Hua Wen-yi’s body shape is flattered by a slim silk suit. Therefore, her lovelorn agony is more evident in modern audience’s eye. In my view, each adaptation’s visual and aural design should concertedly aim to better convey love (qing 情) according to the aesthetic standards of its corresponding era and society.
Summary The visual code of gestures are employed to express the common emotion–the forbidden love. This feeling is shared and cherished by all humans through the way of manifestation, i.e. gestures, are culturally specific. In Sellars’ innovative production of Peony Pavilion, the barriers between different cultures, languages, times and spaces are shattered against the common understanding of love.
_____________ Works Cited
Burns, Robert. Selected Poems by Robert Burns in Chinese Translation. Ed. Natascha Gentz. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010. Cheung, Chan-Fai. “Western Love, Chinese Qing: A Philosophical Interpretation of the Idea of Love in Romeo and Juliet and The Butterfly Lover.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy. 26 (4), 1999. 469-488. Karim-Cooper, Farah. The Hand on the Shakespearean Stage. London: Bloomsbury, 2016. Shakespeare, William. The Norton Facsimile. the First Folio of Shakespeare. Ed. Charlton Hinman. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1968. Swatek, Catherine C. Peony Pavilion Onstage: Four Centuries in the Career of a Chinese Drama. Ann Arbor: Centre for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan, 2002. Tang, Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Trans. Cyril Birch. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2002. Zhang, Xiaoyang. “Shakespeare and Traditional Chinese Drama: Shakespeare in Chinese culture – A Comparative Study in Cultural Materialism”. PhD thesis, University of Southampton, 1993.
Filmography
Peony Pavilion. Dir. Peter Sellars. Perf. Hua Wen-yi, Michael Schumacher. University of California, Berkeley, 1999. https://ucla.box.com/v/peonypavilion (Last accessed, 3 May 2019)
Hua and Yue
EDUCATION & EDUCATION & OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIE EDUCATION &
OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATION &
U OPPORTUNITIES 04. G
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Offering some of Japan’s finest education and research opportunities, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) has multitudes of international connections with universities and research groups across the world. There are three main ways students can enjoy their time at UTokyo: studying as full-time students, studying as exchange students, or staying as researchers.
Studying Full-time: PEAK The Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK) is a collective name for a range of programs available to study as a full-time student, consisting of 4-year undergraduate degree programs. PEAK is designed primarily for students who have been educated in languages other than Japanese, and students can choose to study the International Program on Japan in East Asia or the International Program on Environmental Sciences. In the first two years (Junior Division), students study “liberal arts”, which is a general course intended to establish the foundation for later studies. This includes the mandatory Japanese Language courses, but students enroll in these according to their proficiency level. In the next two years (Senior Division), students take specialized courses as part of the specific curriculum they have selected: Japan in East Asia or Environmental Sciences. The PEAK students have strong connections amongst themselves, and many of them participate in student-based activities such as organizing the PEAK Student Council and the writing the university’s English online newsletters “Komaba Times.” In the PEAK Student Council, students organize a variety of projects around the school, with the Komaba Festival in autumn being the largest undertaking each year. Komaba Festival is a university event in which many sports teams, musical bands, and individual faculties of the university put up a stall or a room to sell food or show around research projects. It is a great chance to introduce PEAK not only to the wider university, but to the public in general.
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University of Tokyo: SGlobal Outreach
Naoto Hikawa
Komaba Festival 2018
studying as exchange students: USTEP The University-wide Student Exchange Program (USTEP) is a program to accept students from partner universities of UTokyo. There are two types: the Undergraduate (Type U) or the Graduate (Type G). The Type U generally has a higher Japanese Language requirement, as most of the Undergraduate studies are in Japanese. The Type G may be done in English, depending on the advisor. To apply, exchange students must be nominated by their home universities to come to UTokyo. They must contact the office responsible for universitywide student exchange at their home universities and check the application procedures for UTokyo.
For the outbound USTEP (going from UTokyo to other universities), the opportunities are endless. I am one of the USTEP students this year, studying in École polytechnique in France. Even though I am in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UTokyo, I was nominated to study in Chemistry at the École polytechnique. Not only that, but I applied to the 3rd year of École polytechnique, which is a UTokyo equivalent of the 1st year of Master. USTEP gives you the chance to study anything at any level you think is fit, as long as UTokyo nominates you, and the host university accepts you.
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Telling the world your great findings or getting new ideas can be challenging at times, especially when you don’t interact with people outside your country.
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Staying as Researchers UTokyo also has various short-term, nondegree programs provided in English. For instance, the University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) is a summer research program targeted at undergraduates who have a keen interest in pursuing an M.S. or Ph.D. degree in the future. Bachelor’s level students can experience the research program at the faculty of physics, astronomy, chemistry, earth & planetary science, or biological sciences in the Graduate School of Sciences. In addition to an opportunity for an outstanding scientific research experience, the program includes off-campus activities such as field trips to a historical or natural sites in Japan, and social and cultural events to promote a better understanding of Japanese culture and build a good relationship with current students at UTokyo.
Additionally, there is the Engineering Summer Education Program (ESEP) from the School of Engineering. Similar to UTRIP, the full-time laboratory program is five to six weeks long, providing students with chances to learn about Japanese culture and language. There are over 15 labs of Engineering to choose from, and students may be eligible for financial support as well.
In the End Telling the world your great findings or getting new ideas can be challenging at times, especially when you don’t interact with people outside your country. The University of Tokyo continues to provide students with facilities to participate in different exchange programs, which helps to better prepare them as citizens of the world.
EDITORIAL
BOARD
I was awarded the Fung Scholarship in 2015 to learn Children’s Literature at Malmö University, Sweden. After graduating in English Language Education from The Education University of Hong Kong in 2017, I chose to further my studies in the field of literature. I recently completed an MPhil in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin and currently works as an English teacher at a local school in Hong Kong. I am committed to engaging students with quality literature.
EDITORIAL Stanley Mitchell
Cheung Ming Ming
Editor-in-charge
Writer & Editor FS2015-16, The Education University of Hong Kong
BOARD FS2015-16, University of Oxford
I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the representatives of the University of Oxford in the 2016 International Leadership Programme in China, with the generous support of the Fung Scholarship Programme. I graduated with a Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, specialising in biological logic systems and completed my research under Jerome Bonnet at the CBS lab, Montpellier.
EDITORIAL Having worked in Tokyo and at the Ministry of Defence, I am now based between London and Cambridge working in innovation. I help to develop novel early stage technologies for international companies, while keeping up my interest in languages and history in my spare time.
BOARD
EDITORIAL Yunzi receives financial support from the Fung Foundation for her first two years of undergraduate study at Princeton University, where she majors in Architecture and minors in Visual Arts, Urban Studies, and Applications of Computing. She is interested in media theory and their applications in the metropolitan built environment. She just completed a year of independent research on the implications of video and location-based games in contemporary urban design, and is currently working on a documentary film project about waterfront urban infrastructure that will be screened later this year at the Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching films, and playing video games.
BOARD
tAHIRA tAZREEN
EDITORIAL Shi Yunzi
Writer & Editor FS2014-15, Asian University for Women
Tahira has completed her under graduation in Economics from Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Currently, she is working as Program Officer for a specialized program named “Pathways for Promise” in Asian University for Women. Tahira has been actively participating in various volunteer activities from the very beginning of her school life since she joined Girls’ Guide Association Bangladesh, and has continued doing that throughout her university life. She has been teaching children in community school as a member of Community Teacher’s Club of her university. Besides, she has also worked with visually impaired children of Chittagong while working as a member of a volunteer organization. Tahira finished basic French language course, and thinking of learning Spanish. Apart of her work, Tahira loves travelling, reading books and singing a lot!
Designer FS2016-18, Princeton University
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EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
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Magdalena Kohut was selected to participate in an internship at Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong in 2015, an opportunity made possible by funding from the Fung Scholarship Programme. Her work involved organizing an international symposium for architects, which focussed on the topics of Sustainability and Bamboo. Having completed her MChem Chemistry degree at the University of Oxford, Magda started her PhD in Organic Synthetic Methodology and Natural Products Synthesis at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in November 2016.
EDITORIAL
In her free time Magda enjoys yoga, salsa dancing, swimming, skiing, travelling, and visiting art galleries.
Naoto Hikawa
Magdalena Kohut
Writer FS2018-19, University of Tokyo
Writer
BOARD
I currently receive the Fung Scholarship for the 2018-19 exchange program. I study Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tokyo and right now I am following Chemistry courses and doing research internship at École polytechnique (France). In 2018, the Fung Foundation had its first reunion in Japan, at which I represented the University of Tokyo and gave the lead speech to the foundation. This is my first time writing for the FS newsletter, and I feel that it has given me the opportunity to interact with the foundation and other scholars.
FS2015-16, University of Oxford
EDITORIAL At my home university, I often help foreign students with Japanese or sometimes English. In my free time, I enjoy weightlifting, practicing the guitar, and participating in competitive programming.
BOARD
EDITORIAL I received the Fung Scholarship in 2017 for my half year exchange in the United Kingdom. I am a final year Translation student in Lingnan University. Since the year I joined FS family, I have actively participated in regional events in Hong Kong. It has been my third times helping the newsletter. This foundation provides students with international exposure and networks. It is a pleasure to meet more Fung Scholars through newsletter writings. Throughout my four-year university life, I devote myself in a variety of extra-curricular activities. My passion for public speaking has began since my freshman year. I am also a movie, tea and book lover.
BOARD Wang Huimin Writer
EDITORIAL Wong Sze Man
FS2016-17, Xiamen University
Having graduated from Xiamen University in 2018, I am now based in Southampton, Britain for the PhD English Programme. During my undergraduate years, I joined the exchange programme and studied at The University of Hong Kong. It was the time I joined the Fung Scholar Family. My research interests are primarily Shakespeare and traditional Chinese theatre, particularly in the ongoing cross-cultural communications in a global scale. I am fascinated by the multiple possibilities of literature works including the potential for reinterpretation, education and development. Besides, I am a twoway Chinese-English translator and interpreter with CATTI certificates.
Writer FS2017-18, Lingnan University
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EDITORIAL
Hope you enjoy this issue’s feature stories!
FUNG SCHOLARS NETWORK NEWSLETTER JULY 2019