Beijing's point man on Hong Kong affairs meets local university heads
Beijing's point man on Hong Kong affairs held discussions with the heads of several universities in the city on Thursday, in the first publicly known meeting with leaders of local tertiary institutions.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also visited Kai Tak Sports Park and met politicians on the third day of his fact-finding visit.
His discussions with the heads of the institutions came on the heels of six publicly funded universities climbing the ranks of an influential league table produced by education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) rose to 11th place, surpassing two prestigious tertiary education institutions in mainland China.
The meeting, held at government headquarters, ran for nearly three hours, with attendees including Xiang Zhang from HKU, Nancy Ip Yuk-yu from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Dennis Lo Yuk-ming from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
Xiang Zhang from the University of Hong Kong attends the meeting with Xia Baolong. Photo: Sam Tsang
Polytechnic University's (PolyU) Teng Jin-guang, City University's Freddy Boey Yin-chiang and Education University's John Lee Chi-kin also attended.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
US dollar uncertainty propels use of e-CNY
The geopolitical world is becoming multipolar. Inevitably, the international monetary system is also evolving towards one where several sovereign currencies coexist and compete with each other. Advertisement As the second-largest economy, China must broaden the international role and appeal of the yuan. To this end, it makes sense to set up a new operations centre in Shanghai, the key mainland financial hub, to boost the yuan's global reach. As announced at the just-concluded Lujiazui Forum in the city, the international operations centre will pilot a range of monetary policy tools to complement the rolling out of the digital renminbi. The strategy underscores Beijing's determination to promote the use of the e-CNY, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), on a worldwide scale. At a time when most countries are still grappling with the concept of a CBDC, China is moving full steam ahead. Successful trials in the retail use of e-CNY have been carried out across a dozen Chinese cities since 2023, and in Hong Kong since last year. Advertisement A promising cross-border payments and banking system called 'mBridge' is linking the CBDCs from the central banks of China, Hong Kong, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Xi urges Iran and ‘especially Israel' to cease fire during call with Putin
In a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an end to the fighting between Israel and Iran, urging the countries, 'especially Israel', to cease fire to prevent the situation from escalating and avoid a spillover of the conflict. Advertisement The phone conversation came days after Israel initiated a large-scale military attack on Iran , which led to retaliation by Tehran. 'The situation in the Middle East is very critical. It once again proves that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change,' Xi told Putin, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 'If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly,' Xi said. Putin said Russia was willing to maintain close communication with China and would work with Beijing on efforts to cool the situation and maintain regional peace and stability. Advertisement 'Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities is highly dangerous. The escalation of the conflict is not in the interests of any party, and the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation,' Putin said, according to the statement.
The Standard
2 hours ago
- The Standard
Israel's defense minister says Iran's supreme leader 'cannot continue to exist'
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on, in a televised message following the Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
