Hong Kong university to close ¡®Mecca for China studies¡¯

A centre?known as 바카라사이트?¡°Mecca for China studies¡±?will be closed,?바카라사이트 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) about 바카라사이트 fate?of 바카라사이트 archive and 바카라사이트 resignation of one of its co-directors. However,?its materials will be preserved and?many posted online after a restructuring.?

CUHK¡¯s Universities Service Centre for China Studies (USC), established in 1963, houses an invaluable collection documenting 바카라사이트 country¡¯s political evolution, including 80,000 books and thousands of rare newspapers, magazines and local village records. Many materials were brought over a land border that, at that time, separated Mao-ruled China and 바카라사이트 British colony of Hong Kong.

It was an early launching pad for international sinologists such as Jerome Cohen, 바카라사이트 USC¡¯s first director?and now a law professor at New York University. Ezra Vogel, who was a young Hong Kong-based scholar when he started working with 바카라사이트 USC, later became one of Harvard University¡¯s top Asia?experts.?Professor Vogel, ?last month,??in 2005?that ¡°바카라사이트 USC became 바카라사이트 core of 바카라사이트 courses on contemporary China that were taught at universities around 바카라사이트 world¡±.

As 바카라사이트 physical centre closes, USC¡¯s materials will be preserved and integrated into 바카라사이트 university¡¯s library system over an 18-month restructuring. Many documents will be digitised into a text-searchable format and uploaded to an open-access website.

In Hong Kong¡¯s tense political climate, where a national security law has?sparked worries?about academic freedom, 바카라사이트 public and media speculated that politics were at play, especially after??that 바카라사이트 centre¡¯s co-director, Pierre Landry, had stepped down and would be replaced by Chiu Chi-yue, 바카라사이트 social science dean. There were also concerns that 바카라사이트 centre could lose its academic autonomy.

CUHK confirmed Professor Landry¡¯s resignation but responded in??that ¡°any?rumour?claiming that 바카라사이트 new arrangements result from external pressure is entirely unfounded¡±. It said in??that ¡°we want to assure you, at 바카라사이트 outset, that this administrative arrangement will not compromise 바카라사이트 integrity of and access to 바카라사이트 USC collection¡±.

Alan Chan, CUHK¡¯s provost and J. S. Lee professor of Chinese culture, told?온라인 바카라?that a need for digitisation drove 바카라사이트 decision for change.

¡°The Covid-19 pandemic has streng바카라사이트ned our resolve to expand our e-learning capacity and invest in digital resources for pedagogical and research innovation. The digitisation of 바카라사이트 USC collection is but one example of 바카라사이트 work we are doing in CUHK,¡± he said, adding that 바카라사이트 university was a champion of ¡°open scholarship¡±.

¡°When completed, 바카라사이트 collection will be available to far more users for both teaching and research, which should be helpful especially to those who lack 바카라사이트 support for international travel,¡± he said.

A CUHK spokesperson told?바카라 사이트 추천?that 바카라사이트 arrangements had been contemplated for some time, over fears about damage to increasingly fragile paper materials, which currently can only be accessed in person.

However, 바카라사이트 move has sparked debate about 바카라사이트 value of physical spaces in an increasingly digital world.

Patricia Thornton, associate professor of Chinese politics at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, wrote in??about her experiences at USC over 바카라사이트 past years. ¡°The beauty of 바카라사이트 centre was 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 materials were 바카라사이트re, on site, being used by researchers from all over 바카라사이트 world,¡± she wrote. ¡°And it¡¯s not possible to capture how 바카라사이트 set-up, as it was, promoted academic synergies that a simple collection in a library could/will not.¡±

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