CUSP Orientation Booklet 2017

Orientation Booklet Chinese University Student Press

中大學生報

Content CU Space

Ever rmat ive CUHK Map 03 ｜ The Most Info arks 05 ｜ CUHK Landm wing connect — Intervie 08 ｜ When we can ers in CUHK different stakehold

Communication

mmunity the Internat ional Co 11 ｜ Interg rating ips in CUHK 13 ｜ Inter-friendsh

Language

angs 10 ｜ University Sl ese on nt panese sees Ca 15 ｜ Shin: How Ja d be rtedly hope it woul culture-- I wholehea ved er es pr learning Chinese 17 ｜ The power of

Campus

t informat ion?

19 ｜ Where to ge d Jessie rview with Anju an 21 ｜ ISA - An inte

HK Culture

mpetit ion ｜ 23 CU Ghost Stories Co Kong — Central in discovering Hong e ut ro 's er nn gi be A ｜ 25

Channels

ty ｜ 27 The Varsity of Varie pendent English Press — An inde s es Fr ng Ko ng Ho online news ｜ 28

on Student Contributi certain e un ay : a message to th It’s Going to be Ok freshman ｜ 30

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2

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ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

Area 39 ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

coffee mahjong

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

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ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

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ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

open

24 hr

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

Shuttle Bus Station

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

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THE MOST

INFORMATIVE CUHK MAP EVER!

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

Shortcuts in CUHK open

24 hr

Tide Cove ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ᦄġġᖯġġᨄ ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő ŃŖŔġŔŕŐő

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University Station Bus Terminus

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University Health Centre

Red Mini Bus

Monkok - Taipo Service Hour(1500-0500)

East Rail Line

4

CUHK Landmarks

By Hazel Fok

Madly in love — New Asia Water Tower and United College Water Tower

There are two water towers in CUHK, one in New Asia College and one in United College.

New Asia water tower is also called “the Gentleman Tower”, while United College water tower has the name of “the Lady Tower” because of its beautiful curves. The two water towers were said to be a couple madly in love. From their positions, you can see the charismatic gentleman faces the lady directly as if he is looking her in the eyes, while the lady leans to one side shyly to escape his burning gaze.

Besides, the walkway behind Bethlehem Hall that links New Asia College and United College is named “lover’s path”. Although the path got its name from its narrowness as people have to cross it shoulder to shoulder (romantic huh?), this name undoubtedly offers an imagi-

nary space to the story of “the couple.”

Both water towers were built in the 1970s to store and supply both freshwater and saltwater to hostels and buildings in the mountain top.

However, claims are saying that the water towers were not longer in use due to advanced technology.

If the water towers are no longer in use, why haven’t they been demolished? I guess it is because of their historical significances. The fact that the water towers have been standing tall for decades overlooking the Tolo Harbour has already made them a symbol — an indispensable part of CUHK.

Students seem to adore the water towers too given the fact that I have heard of stories about students trying to break into the towers ever since I entered this university. I don’t trust those stories as I have observed the towers closely before. The locked tower door, as well as the security cameras added in the name of safety, has made the act of breaking in (seemingly) impossible. Nonetheless, these stories have broadened my imagination for this campus. Although we as students may not get to interact with the water towers intimately, watching the sunset with “the couple” is still a very calming thing to do.

The Beacon and Gate of Wisdom Perhaps a lot of you have heard of this myth: “If you walk through Gate of Wisdom, you won’t be able to graduate.” This myth is possibly the most famous tale of CUHK. However, it is not that creative as there are also similar tales for other universities. For example, students of City University of Hong Kong would never pass through the middle door (out of five entries) or else they couldn’t graduate.

Other than this renowned legend, the Beacon is also a symbol of student and social movements in Hong Kong, representing the social responsibility and the sense of duty CUHK students have had for the society.

As mentioned before, the University Mall

has been the venue for assemblies, and the Beacon had been the podium for leaders of social movements to spread their words, such as 1989 June Fourth incident, 2012 anti-national education movement, and 2014 class boycott campaign which called for universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

What you may not know is that the Beacon was planned to be removed for the expansion of the University Library back in 2008.

A lot of students and alumni were angry such decision made by the school and held petitions and assemblies to fight against it. At last, the people won, and the school kept the Beacon on the original site you see now.

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Everyone’s favorite —Weiyuan Lake (Lake Ad Excellentiam)

This beautiful lake is probably one of the first things you noticed upon entering the campus. When the university first established, there was no lake, but farmlands and small fish ponds. In the late 60s, a large pond named “Lotus Pond” was built, however, as the pond water was made up of stream water and sewage from canteens, the pond was muddy and unpleasant to look at. The school eventually rebuilt the pond into Weiyuan Lake in 1997 by treating the water, expanding the pond, building bridges and planting a large variety of exotic trees and flowers.

It is evident that everyone loves Weiyuan Lake. Many tourists like to visit Weiyuan Lake because of its short distance from the train station, while a lot of students also like to stroll around the lake and hold numerous activities.

Some students like to picnic in the grassland, and couples like to walk along the lake at night, some students even dare to break the rules and swim at the lake in late night (when there’s a swimming pool on campus). Be sure to visit Weiyuan Lake in Autumn, the scenery of red leaves is one of the most charming views of CUHK!

The Million-dollar Myth of the University Mall The University Mall, the famous walkway between the University Library and the Science Center, is fondly referred to as the “Million Boulevard” by people in CUHK as well as the general public. And several sayings go with this unusual name. One saying is that the construction fee of the University Mall was $1 million. In the 1970s, the expense of constructing a building, taking the Benjamin Franklin Centre located on Central Campus as an example, was just $2.5 million. Therefore, spending $1 million for the construction of a walkway would be a huge investment! Another saying is that millions of tiles were used. There is yet another saying that the name “Million Boulevard” contains the symbolic meaning of the Chinese Pattern of the tiles. The fret pattern on the tiles— a pattern commonly found in traditional Chinese architectures and antiques -- represents the number “ten thousand,” the walkway made up of thousands of such tile is thus called “Million Boulevard.”

Over the decades, the University Mall has been a popular venue for different activities, from political demonstrations involving thousands of people to innovative student activities.

For example, in a late night of September 2016, six students decided to play mahjong in the University Mall as they didn’t want to disturb the residents in their hostels. However, as the security passed by and spotted the event, the security decided that playing mahjong is forbidden despite having no official school regulation on it.

The two parties conflicted and ended up with the security guards calling the police. Although the conflict was solved peacefully at last without the need of policemen’s help, this incident has been covered by several mainstream mass media and sparked a debate on the question — “who decided the rules of public space?” within the society. Other than playing mahjong, there were also cases of students eating hot pot in the University Mall too, so perhaps you can spend a minute to think about what you’d like to do there.

When we can connect — Interviewing different stakeholders in CUHK (excerpt) /When we talk about ‘CU people,’ who are we actually referring?

How different can the experience in CUHK be for various stakeholders?/ Author: Luk Ming-man Translator: Hazel Fok Editor’s note: The editorial team had interviewed people from different groups in CUHK, like the school management team, students, and school workmen. And by combining the fragments of various stakeholders’ life in CUHK, we hope to paint a more comprehensive picture of this place. Due to the limited space in our booklet, the interviewees may not particularly “representative,” but their life experiences and words can surely be the nutrient for us to think about how to make CUHK a greater place.

1. 28 years of youth, 28 years of service — Ling, a dorm guard in United College Ling is a dorm guard of Bethlehem Hall.

She has worked here for 28 years and just received the United College Long Service Award for her efforts over the years.

Ling is required to stay in the hostel for about 8 hours every day. Throughout her 8 hours of works, she would sit at the reception for 2 hours (but if her colleagues get a day-off on that day, the session will last much longer).

During her sit at the reception, she would have to deal with stuff like checking out malfunctioning washing machines and borrowing keys to residents. As for the remaining 6 hours, she would be cleaning the hostel, including the toilets and the rubbish bins in students’ dorm room. For Sundays, she would sweep the floor of the entire hostel, including the floor inside the dorm rooms.

However, the work in summer holiday was usually much harder than other times in the year because the dorm rooms would often be rented to various organizations. “When one group leaves at noon, another one will check in at three. Within the three hours, I have to rush to wash all the bed sheets and pillow cases, clean the floor, sweep the bookshelves, wash the dust filters of air conditioners. In the past, the bed sheets used to be sent to laundry shops for cleaning, but now we have to do it ourselves. I have broken two watches because I worked too quickly.” said Ling.

Although her workload seemed to have increased over time, she said things had improved a lot over the past ten years. “Ten years ago, we didn’t have microwaves, and it required a lot of work just for boiling some hot water.”

Talking about the past, we asked her about the biggest change within the hostels of CUHK throughout the decades. She said that hostel in the past was more united —”warmer” to be precise. She said: “In the past, we didn’t have air-con in the hostel, and every resident would open their room doors. It felt like a hostel that way. Everyone just closes their room doors now. It felt more like a hotel this way. The hostel felt happier back then.”

The regulations in student hostels also changed over the years. “A few years ago, when residents invite some friends to come over, the dorm guard would let those friends in as long as they can recognize the friends. Non-residents could then come into the hostel freely without the accompany of a resident. But one time, a resident complained to the warden about such practice of the dorm guards. Therefore, the regulation was changed, and non-residents have to be accompanied by at least one resident to get in now. Nonetheless, non-residents can leave on their own.”

For her favorite place in CU, she liked Lake Ad Excellentiam and the coconut palms near Chung Chi College student canteen the most. “It is nice to take a stroll there in my free time.” She liked her job overall, “other than the stable working hours and regular day-offs, what more important is that I can communicate with the younger generation which allows me to feel younger!”

2. An eye-witness of 40 years— Prof. Hui King-man, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University We also interview Prof. Hui King-man, the

current vice chancellor of CUHK. Prof Hui King-man studied in CUHK from 1976 to 1980 and worked as a teaching assistant here from 1980 to 1982. In 1996, he started working as a marketing professor here and took up administrative positions in the university since 2004. He had been experiencing the development of CUHK for over 40 years.

“As I have taken up administrative position in the school, I rarely enter classrooms now. And now that I have grown old, I don’t use the sports facilities anymore,” said Hui. He thinks that the university had expanded a lot. “There were only 4000 students when I first came to CUHK; now there are 24000 students within the campus!” And because of the increase in student numbers, the infrastructures in the campus has all undergone expansion and modernization. “There is less of an earthy, country scent here now,” he said.

When asked about the most unforgettable places in CU, he became enthusiastic and shared a lot of memories with us. For example, he lived in Chih Hsing Hall in New Asia College in the past. He used to watch the stars and the night view of Yolo Harbour with his roommate, and they would talk about everything — their dreams, family, country.

“The external appearance of the hall hadn’t changed a bit, but the internal of the building had been renovated and changed a lot. It feels different to be there, not in a bad way though” he said.

Other than New Asia College, he also mentioned the pier and the small stores near university station in the past. “I sometimes reminisce about the old times. I had to run to catch trains and would go fishing near the Tolo pier. I boated in Tolo Harbour and always played with the sparrows kept by the small shops next to the train station.”

In his eyes, the most beautiful building of

8

CUHK would be the Institute of Chinese Studies. “The design of the general building was kept in the renovation, but the courtyard was refurbished which gives out a stronger artistic vibe. And when I look at the carps in the pond inside the institute, I often find myself wondering whether the carps are still the ones I saw as an undergraduate or the great-greatgrand children of those.”

Lastly, he would like to leave some words to people in CUHK. “I hope that the school can become a welcoming space for different values and culture. I hope that teaching staff can unleash their talents and creativity in their respective positions and students can cultivate their moral character while pursuing knowledge. And everyone in CUHK shall try their best to protect the campus environment and support the sustainable development of the school.”

3. “I hope the university show more consideration for handicapped people” — X, a disabled student X is a disabled teaching assistant. He had pursued his undergraduate degree in CUHK and is now further studying and working as a TA in CU for his master’s degree. This year is his fifth year here.

When he was an undergraduate, he always traveled to different places in CUHK, like his friends’ dorms, and the non-resident hall of his college, to read comics and play video games. But after starting to work as a TA, he had unwillingly developed a daily routine working, leaving the workplace, and staying home. “Now that I am working at the school, I barely leave my office. The only reason for leaving will be to go for lessons.” And he said that a positive change in CUHK in the recent years would be the addition of new buildings with lifts that connect the school.

“The route for me to go from one place to another has become less hard.”

He thought that CU ought to pay more attention to the needs of students in wheelchairs. He explained, “for example, the pavements of some sidewalks are rugged, like the path from university station to Chung Chi college.” Sometimes, when the sidewalks were too bumpy, he’d chose to walk directly on the busy road. “But then

that will be dangerous.” He added, “it will be nice if the pavements of those bumpy sidewalks can be changed into smoother ones.”

Another unpleasant experience X had in CUHK happened in Woo Sing College.

“The current design is that people in wheelchairs must be escorted by the dorm guard in order to take the lift (which is located behind the security gate) to the canteen. I felt uneasy whenever I go there because it seemed that I caused great inconveniences to others.” This experience sparked an idea in his mind, “I hope that all the future colleges will create wheel-chair friendly passages for people to access to the public areas within the college. I don’t want to bother others anymore.”

When asked about his opinions towards the plan of CUHK, he answered: “I hope that no more buildings with weird, unhandy design will be built. Moreover, I hope that more well-cultured people can enter the management of the university.” “Firstly, this kind of people,” he said, “should not just focus on the ranking and the monetary profit of the school. Secondly, they should not be blind to injustice and spend all their time in covering up their mistakes.”

4. “My ideal CUHK would be a place with a stronger humanistic atmosphere” — Javier Javier studied an undergraduate degree in CUHK from 2009 to 2012. He participated extra-curricular activities actively. In fact, one year, he took up exco positions in six different student societies which were a legendary achievement. He is currently further studying in CUHK and works as a teaching assistant here.

When asked about a place with unforgettable memories, he immediately thought about the place he lived in for the longest time — his hostel. “The people in my hostel had this tradition, of which when it was nearly time for quitting the hostel, people would go and swim in Lake Ad Excellentiam at late night! The seniors would buy all these life buoys and floating beds, and they would invite other residents in the hostel (who were brave enough) to swim in the lake and appreciate the night scenery together.” His years as an undergraduate has passed, yet the memories of his life

in the hostel would always be something he deeply treasured.

He also said that CU used to be great.

“When compared to other universities, CU is different. Everything here seemed to fit into the natural environment surrounding it.” But then, he thought that CU had gradually become similar to other universities, “the new buildings, like TITB, CCS, TCW, all look like shopping malls. Even though they are spacious, they feel cold and unwelcoming. They were not designed for larger groups of people to hang around. It seems really hard to feel a proper space for a big group of people to sit down and chat now.”

And if Javier felt so uneasy about the recent changes of CUHK, how would his ideal CUHK look? “My ideal CUHK would be an idyllic place. It would not only be a place shared by CUHK students and staff but a beautiful campus share with different people from the society. I hope that everything in the campus, from the trees to the food on the canteens, can give out a humanistic atmosphere. For example, different stores in CU could be undertaken by various co-ops and NGOs, so that students do not have to fight to resist the expansion of large chain stores inside the campus. Moreover, I hope that the public space in CU can be truly spaces for people, not spaces where you will be chased away by the security just for sitting on the ground. Teachers and students can make better use of public spaces to hold different activities, like panels and movie screening for everyone to join, and will not be hindered by the tiresome administrative process.”

Lastly, Javier left some words for the management of the university: “Do listen to students’ opinions. Don’t just manage the school by balancing the cold numbers and figures. Surely, it would be a tough task to care for students’ opinions in such a big institution. But hasn’t the courage in taking the hard road been part of the integrity of this university all along?”Harbour with his roommate, and they would talk about everything — their dreams, family, country. “The external appearance of the hall hadn’t changed a bit, but the internal of the building had been renovated and changed a lot. It feels different to be there, not in a bad way though” he said.

//This article was originally published as《如果我們能連結——訪問中大不同的持份者》in《中大五十年》//

g n a l S y t i s r e v i n U

By Louie Yan

Events

Big O ( 大 O)：College orientation camp.

Small O ( 細 O)：Department orientation camp.

Seong Jong ( 上莊 )：The taking up of student society’s position.

King Jong ( 傾莊 )：A event held by society committee to meet club members in order to form a new cabinet of the society.

Night Talk ( 夜話 )：Chit chat and deep talks about gossips, status and dreams at late night.

Sik siu ( 食宵 )：Eating night snack by going out, CUHK students usually go Fo Tan and Tai Wai for sik siu.

Dem Beat：Demonstration of beat, a collective action of clapping hands and stepping with rhythm.

Academic

GPA：Grade Point Average, a reference of team academic result.

Pass 3 explode 4：It refers to the situation when one’s GPA is higher than 3.0. It is a blessing to wish other scoring high-flying colors in their study.

Character

Snake ( 蛇 )：Non-hostel student who live in hall stealthily. Snake is forbidden in most of the college halls.

NDS/PSP：Nei Di Sheng/Putonghua Speaking People. Students who come from Mainland China.

Killer：Course instructor who is demanding on evaluating student’s score, will fail student’s grade more often.

Adjective

Teoi ( 頹 ): An adjective to describe people who show no interest and passion on everything.

Zip ( 摺 ): An adjective to describe people who don't show up much in gathering.

Chur: An adjective to describe people who try their best in everything they did to strive for success.

10

Integrating the International Community

By Selena Liang /We need to think more united than we actually are. /

It was unusual for me to chat with a non-local, such that conversing with a non-Chinese student would make a day special. Except that I wasn’t conversing, I was interviewing. I started by recording and confirming his personal information—Chase Trung Fortier, year 1, Sociology Major, Chung Chi College, from Florida……

“Why did you decide to come to Hong Kong?” a real question finally, almost asked in confusion.

He explained that he grew up in a small town with lots of Chinese Americans, and in particular his best friend’s mum was from Hong Kong. For years he has learnt all the “cool stuff” there is to do in bigger cities like Hong Kong. After he arrived, well, he did experience the actual “cool” side of Hong Kong.

Connecting and Disconnected It’s true that Hong Kong houses quite a wide variety of international population. For Chase, he has formed a social circle with students from the UK, India, Indonesia, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Taiwan etc.

“We have a good mix of people and we all speak English as our one unifying language.”

Yet, Hong Kong is seldom a second home to international students. Chase himself didn’t feel integrated into the local student life. He did befriend some locals in class and in off-campus events occasionally, but other than that, he mostly felt isolated and neglected. The dorm and college events are often advertised in Chinese only, and the social disconnection is pretty common.

“I would like to have a local roommate one to get integrated more, two because I know they’ll go home at the week-

Chase Trung Fortier

ends, so I can kinda have my own room for the weekend……but the locals already know who they’re gonna live with and pick each other beforehand……”

Such disconnection is not only present with the local-international boundaries, but also within the international students themselves. Recalling his experience in the ISA Ocamp, Chase felt as if he ‘made a mistake’ in befriending a number of students from ethnic groups that consist a larger population in the CUHK. Soon after orientation, many students joined the association of their own nationality and formed their close and somehow closed social group. While for Chase, he can hardly feel a sense of community.

“I can’t speak for all of [the international students], cause’ there are the Taiwanese and Koreans that have TSA, KSA very large groups.”

As for Chase’s group, there’s about ten of them from different corners of the map. He expressed that it was a really good group, a “small enough group for close friendships”. He also knows few other accepting groups with people of diverse cultures and personalities. The problem is, they don’t have a “unifying Student Union” to pull a larger community together.

“I have a joke with my British friend and one of my Kazakh friends. I’m quarter Vietnamese, the British one is quarter Chinese, and the Kazakh one is quarter Korean. So we’re the ‘Quarter Asian Student Union’. But of course there’s only three of us, we can’t actually make a student society.”

Actually there’s the ISA (International Student Association) acting as a common union for all non-local students. Chase acknowledged that the ISA did an effective job with orientation as, for example, providing infographics for college comparison, instructing students in course registration, guiding students through the campus etc. However, Chase felt like the social and cultural events that came afterwards (including those organized by LCES, OSA and ISA) were infrequent or the promotions were insufficient. Although Chase has met few friends in the ISA orientation, his whole friend group was only pulled together with friends of friends in private gatherings.

“I haven’t really heard of [international] events. I thought the i-Lounge was just a room,” says Chase. The i-Lounge is indeed a place, but one for organizing activities that facilitate cultural exposure and exchange.

Another similar program is the i-Ambassador Scheme.

The “i” stands for internationalization and possibly integration.

“I thought the ‘i’ was just to make it like i-Phone, kind of trendy sounding,” Chase says, “They didn’t really promote it very much.”

Neglection and Representation Other than issues of social (dis)integration, Chase also experience inconvenience due to some inadequate policies of the student bodies and the university enlarged.

For instance, the CUHK Student Union—to which all local and international CUHK students pay membership dues—mainly operates in Cantonese. English information is only present in the “long mass mails that nobody reads”, and even absent in years of Student Press publication that most international students “cannot read”.

Another example is that Chase was forced to move out of his hostel in May last semester, as the hostel was closed down early for renovation. It was during the finals’ season, and Chase was heavily disturbed.

Chase thought the fundamental problem is the lack of international representation, noting that a local student representative was involved in the decision of closing down the hostel early. While the locals could go home for the week or month, international students had to find housing on their own. The task was almost impossible even with refund, as Hong Kong has one of the highest

rents in the world. Eventually, Chase stayed as a guest in a friend’s dorm, which costs him more than the refund.

“They are making these large decisions using my money……but I will not be partaken because of the language barrier and the lack of international representation” The voices and needs of international students are often unseen, or maybe partially presented by a local reporter with her small telescope. For these students to be heard, Chase thought that international representation in unions or at least a common communicative platform is essential. He himself would like to get in touch with the Student Union and express his opinions to them.

Voicing and Thinking in Union Organizational participation is an important but not the only or daily way to be heard. Voicing and requesting in unfair encounters can be another way. For Chase, this also means considering for the whole international community. A week before the closing down of the hostel, Chase found the refrigerator cleared and the prior notice only printed in Chinese. Chase lost a rock of Himalaya black salt, which was brought to him by a friend from Nepal. He was very upset about it, and the hostel gave him a single offer of a couple hundred bucks.

“No, I don’t want you to pay me back. I want you to make this better in the future for other international students. Advertise these things in English, advertise your events in English.”

That was Chase’s reply, though he admitted that the hostel’s offer was appealing.

“But we need to think on a bigger scale, we need to think more united than we actually are.”

Chase hoped that international students could become a real and more powerful community through thinking about each other as a community. This can be actualized in multiple ways, such as joining the ISA and committing oneself to event organization and social integration, contacting the Student Union and participating in policy decisions, and voicing for one another in unfair situations.

To reiterate Chase’s statement, through considering more for fellow and future non-local students with a macro perspective, international students can tackle the problematic measures more efficiently and integrate more effectively—let it be the international or local community.

12

Inter-friendships in CUHK

By Yvonne

We had interviewed an international student Chase before, who was greatly confused by the unwelcoming arrangements to the newcomers. But we would also like to tell that things may not be that bad, please hold your anxiety and read the story of a local-international friendship.

After calling for contributions from international students, we received a message from a student, who was later found to be one of the committee members of the New Asia Intercultural Club, enthusiastically offering help to share our post. Until then did we realize the presence of such a society in CUHK -- a society that aims to foster interactions between locals and international students. We then invited one of the committees of the club, Anson, to have an interview with us.

New Asia Intercultural Club New Asia Intercultural Club was formerly known as “NAmigo”.

NAmigo is founded by a bunch of locals and internationals who would very much wish to break the language barriers for greater interactions. NA refers to New Asia College and the name implied the involvement of a group of NA students.

Whereas for “Amigo”, it means “friends” in Spanish.

Later, NAmigo was acknowledged by the college and received support for them to transform into a club. Since then, the newly formed New Asia Intercultural Club would hold cultural tours and hiking activities regularly to bind the local and international students together.

“I thought that four years of university life is our best and maybe only chance to interact with foreigners, besides, I would like to take the challenge of speaking in English,” said Anson.

These expectations pushed him to meet people of different nationalities. What Anson said is probably local students’ most prevalent idea towards foreigners--speaking fluent English and are different from us.

But soon, he realized that international students are not a reallife dictionary or merely means to get ourselves a seemingly more diverse network. Instead, they can be his friends, as close as any others.

One step closer

Distance in between

“My best friend last year is a Japanese,” Anson said, “Last year, I was the committee of Japanese society, and when I was holding booth for our annual event, a Japanese came to me randomly to ask for ways to get into a track and field team.” Coincidentally Anson got a friend who was a member of the track and field team, so he introduced his friend to the Japanese to offer help.

In spite of the intimacy between Anson and the non-locals, he admitted that the campus was not perfect for non-locals. For example, a lot of menus in campus canteens are available in Chinese only, or the translations are too weird to be understood.

Anson said, “I once brought my friend to SHHO canteen, and I suggested him to order the chicken in Sichuan chilli sauce.” Ever since then, his friend would only order that particular dish in SHHO canteen because he could not identify other dishes.”

After that Anson invited his friend and the Japanese student to have a meal. At the supper, the Japanese showed interests for Hong Kong stuff, so Anson asked if he liked hiking or not. He said yes. Their common interest matches naturally, and it set a reason for them to meet again. A friendship was then built.

To facilitate communication between people of different cultural backgrounds, not only courage is required, but also empathy and cooperation. Anson is now a committee member of New Asia Intercultural Club. There are students of various nationalities joining the committee with him. To make sure that everyone in the board can join the discussion, they would use English instead of Cantonese to communicate in the meeting.

Other than I-house, Anson had lived in local halls as well before.

Some Koreans also proposed that they could not understand hostel announcements. But fortunately, they got an ardent floor tutor. “He would knock on us and had a chit-chat with the residents, so sometimes he would invite the international students to join the hall activities.”

It is straight-forward for an intercultural club to hold their discussions in English. But in local halls, as most of the residents are locals, the conversations were set in Cantonese. How can international students immerse into the group? Anson replied, “Indeed there are times that we talked cheerily and the international students who could not follow the conversation would feel left out. But some of us would take up the role of translation to let them understand the situation.”

“We have Indonesian and Korean in the committee, mostly we talk in English, but sometimes we would use Indonesian, Putonghua or Korean. It is hilarious that when the Korean talks, some female committee members will keep on imitating his accent because they are big fans of Korean pop culture,” says Anson with a natural smile.

Anson also knew an international friend in Chung Chi College.

He joined the hall sports team and became the captain of the team. Though he could only speak in English, the team mates were welcoming, and they liked him much. “Perhaps it is better for international students to join sports teams where communication in words and dialogues were less important,” Anson suggested.

Besides New Asia Intercultural Club, his hostel was also a great place for him to be in contact with many international students.

Anson lived in I-house last year where a majority of residents were non-locals. “We do not have a residents' association there; our connections depend on ourselves,” said Anson. It may seem that the hostel would be dull without an association to connect the residents, but that’s hardly the reality. Anson said, “Even if you do not go to them, the international students will come to you themselves and invite you to their parties. We had parties and drank together in the hostel.”

Editor’s words: Anson’s passion for creating an intercultural environment sheds light on the local-international integration. Despite the presence of some unfriendly facilities or arrangements in CUHK, there are still locals who would like to know you and listen to you. Unlike Anson, I, the author of this article, have little courage to approach others, but if you bump into me in the canteen and ask for some recommendations on dishes, I won’t hesitate in taking up the role of translation for you.

“It was odd at first. We just met once, and we were merely more than strangers. A bit of courage sparked this friendship.”

14

Shin: How Japanese sees Cantonese culture ---- I wholeheartedly hope it would be preserved

I have been in Hong Kong for 17 years. At first, I do not really know how to speak Cantonese, but as I was learning the language, I found it very interesting. In this article, I would talk about some fun stuff about Cantonese.

Cantonese is very vivid and accurate in describing an action, making it sound like a live broadcast. Using ‘ 笑 ’ (laugh) as an example, even though it is acted with a mouth, in Cantonese it is described using other body parts. Examples are「笑到轆地」(rolling on the floor laughing),「笑到肚攣」(laugh till belly hurts),「笑到見 牙唔見眼」(laugh till only teeth but not eyes could be seen),「四萬咁嘅口」(grinning such that the mouth is like this word “ 四 ”) ,「熠熟狗頭」(boiled dog head), etc. The last phrase sounds cruel, but it does capture the vivid facial expression. Cantonese has a lot of these lively metaphors, and the funniest phrase to me is「 鬼 食 泥 咁 聲 」(sounding like ghosts eating mud, meaning unable to speak clearly). Have you ever really seen ghosts munching down mud?

“e” with a flat mouth

Even though Cantonese has a lot of classic words, they are hard to write and rarely used nowadays, so I would prefer learning ‘slangs’ instead. [Slangs’ sounds are thoughtfully designed as well!] For example, according to ‘Cantonese phonics’, the vowel of ‘hea’ [hanging around] is ‘h’ and the consonant is ‘e’. I tried to find similar sounds in Cantonese dictionary, and discovered that many words with ‘e’ as consonant are quite negative. For example, title’s「he3」(hea--hanging around),「me2」( 歪 --crooked)、「le5 fe5」( 哩 啡 -careless)、「ke4 le4」( 騎 呢 --weird)、「se4 gwe1」( 蛇 gwe--coward) and exclamation word「ce1」( 唓 ) etc. Is the ‘e’ sound related to the pouty face we make when we are unhappy? From this sound, people could almost imagine a face with a pout or even crooked mouth that expresses disgust.

Cantonese has actually contributed a lot to Japanese. For instance, words related to Chinese food like “ 叉燒 ” (char siu, or barbeque pork), “ 雲吞 ” (wonton, or dumplings), “ 飲 茶 ” (yum cha) are well-known among Japanese. Similarly, names of Japanese food are also seen in Cantonese, like “ 壽 司 ” (sushi), “ 刺 身 ” (sashimi), “ 天 婦 羅 ” (tempura) etc. Many restaurants use “ 放 題 ” to indicate “eat as much as you can”, which is very similar to “ 食べ放題 ” in Japanese. However, I am always baffled when I see “ 大 放題 ” ( 大 meaning big) since Japanese does not have a word like this. I have also seen Japanese using simplified Cantonese, like “ 発売中 ( 發賣中 )” [for sale] and “ 駅 ( 驛 )” [station] etc. Some people even miswrites “ 壳 ” (simplified from “ 殼 ”, meaning ‘shell’) instead of “ 売 ” (Japanese word of “ 賣 ”, meaning ‘sell’)! Anyways, when I see these words I feel a strong sense of cultural exchange that is worth celebrating.

The Cantonese language system has verbs that indicate direction, like “ 上 ” (up) and “ 落 ” (down), which orally equals “ 往 上 ” (going up) or “ 往下 ” (going down). For instance, “ 上三樓 ” means going up three floors and “ 落地下 ” means going down to the ground floor. [Going up and going down in] Cantonese could also express “heading north” or “heading south” [respectively]. The expressions “ 上 廣 州 ” (going “up” to Guangzhou) and “ 落 香 港 ” (going “down” to Hong Kong) reflect the geographical relationship between the two places.

? e s one

t n a C

Image source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rClNZLXSKA8

//This article was originally published as《日本人看粵語文化——我衷心希望它繼續留存下去》by Shin Kataoka in HK EconomicJournal//

Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Cantonese directional verb “ 返 ” (go back) is even more interesting. It is equivalent to “ 回 ” in Putonghua. “ 回 ” means going back to the original place from somewhere else, but the usage of “ 返 ” is even broader. Whether it be school, company, church, or mainland, the word could still be used. Looks like people who speak Cantonese value places for learning, working and worshipping, so they develop a sense of belonging towards these places.

As for the phrase “ 返 大 陸 ” (going back to Mainland), it is even used by people who have not been to Mainland. Therefore, “ 大陸 ” (Mainland China) is seen as Hong Kong People’s ancestral home.[1]

In the past every dialectic area in China would use dialects to teach Classical Chinese or written language, and people could use dialect to make and recite poems, or even act out dramas. All these help them to appreciate their own culture. However, as Putonghua becomes more common, this kind of teaching method is seen less and less. As Hong Kong still preserved this intangible cultural heritage of great value, I truly hope it could be passed on.

In many countries, people living in dialectic areas would use standard language (instead of dialect) to write and read, but Hong Kong people are different. They write in standard Chinese, but read aloud texts in spoken Cantonese. Hong Kong people have this special talent, where they could translate written language in their mind and use Cantonese spoken language to read it out. For example, when Hong Kong people see the text “ 他 們 明 天 去 看 電 影 ” (they will go see a movie tomorrow), they could immediately say: “ 佢 哋 聽 日 去 睇 戲 ”.

The words used are totally different. I truly marvel at this talent of “immediate translation”. I have read a Cantonese literature explaining the meaning of some Guangzhou proverbs: The first sentence is “ 關關雎鳩，在河之洲 ”, which is explained as “ 個 對雎鳩水鳥，一公一乸，在條河中間海島嗰處地方互相啼唱， 咁 和 氣 相 親 相 愛 來 叫 ” (a pair of water birds called osprey, one male and one female, crowing to each other with deeply attached voices on the island in center of the river. ). I guess in the past people who spoke Cantonese also used this kind of translation method to learn and teach Chinese culture.

You can study Cantonese course in CUHK! The course code is CLCC.

[1]

Editor’s note: In recent years, a sense of belonging to the identity ‘Hong Kongers’ is built and this thought becomes less common.

The power of learning Chinese

By Hazel Fok Most college orientation camps are held in Cantonese only. So you can imagine the communication barrier non-local participants face. Romario, an Indian student in CUHK, once told me that his “father” (a senior student that is supposed to guide freshmen in the camp) had to translate every conversation to him during the camp as all activities and discussions were conducted in Cantonese. He quitted the camp halfway. He didn’t remain in touch with any of his group mates other than his “father”.

And Tomi, who was sitting next to Romario, concluded the story, “Having a translator is bad. It is like you are watching a show, but you are in the show.”

As I am a local student, I couldn’t truly understand the feelings of being in such situation. However, from what I have heard of from my non-local friends, the language barrier is real when it comes to immersing in a local community, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether learning Chinese can be the start for breaking such barrier. Therefore, I invited Tomi, the friend who split out the wise words, to talk with me. Tomi is an Indonesian student in CUHK, and he has just finished his fifth course in Chinese, marking the 1.5 anniversary of his journey in learning Putonghua.

Chinese, heartbreakingly difficult

Little by little -- Small but delightful changes

“A lot of my friends quitted right after [finishing] the six compulsory credits in Chinese.” said Tomi. Right at the beginning of our interview, as I asked Tomi about his experience in learning Chinese, he jokingly said, “You have no idea about [non-locals’] Chinese courses huh. You so convenient huh?!”

I felt somewhat disappointed after hearing Tomi’s experience in learning Chinese. It seemed like learning Chinese couldn’t remove the substantial language barrier at all. Non-Chinese speaking students still couldn’t join the show, as it would take years before they get to communicate with locals fluently. However, Tomi’s sharings has also shedded some light.

“Chinese -- both Putonghua and Cantonese -- is like the hardest language,” said Tomi, which is in a way true. Chinese deserves its reputation of being heartbreakingly difficult, for it has a complex writing system. Firstly, the writing system isn’t phonetic. In CUHK Putonghua courses, teachers will teach students both pinyin (the romanization of Chinese) and han zi (the doodle-like Chinese characters). The difficulty in learning Chinese lies in the separation of sound and character--the sound won’t give you a clue as to how the character is to be written and vice versa. Secondly, one character has ambiguous meanings and can generate a thousand meanings when combined with other characters. Thirdly, even looking up a word in the dictionary can be hard. Subtle differences such as a stroke or even a dot would mean entirely different characters (and meanings). You needed to master 26 alphabets for English; now you got to know more than 3000 characters to acquire a functional literacy in Chinese.

“We get to choose either simplified or traditional Chinese in our courses. I have an American friend who is the one and the only person I know that picked traditional Chinese. He regretted it a lot,” said Tomi. Simplified Chinese is easier as its characters involve fewer strokes and less tedious details. However, Hong Kong writes in traditional Chinese. Therefore, learning simplified Chinese means you will still suffer to read in Hong Kong.

From the above-listed details, you can imagine the difficulties non-locals face when learning Chinese, as well as the struggles for teachers in teaching the language. In fact, the demanding nature of pinyin and hanzi has deprived these Chinese language courses of cultural elements. “It’s like how you learn Spanish. You just learn about different vocabulary, tenses, and sentence structure,” said Tomi. However, Chinese courses--being part of the university core programmes--are supposed to help promote cultural understanding, especially for non-locals who wasn’t familiar with the city’s culture.

“One thing for sure, I can talk to my dorm guard now,” Tomi said. A lot of frontline workers in CUHK are not fluent in English and often experience difficulties in communicating with English-speaking students. “In the past, I have to ask my roommate who knows how to speak Chinese to pass my messages to the dorm guards,” Tomi said, “One time, in my first year, my dorm guard challenged me to learn Chinese within my four years of study here. (Q: How did you understand his words?) He talked in Cantonese and gestured it to me.

He raised four fingers and did something like pointing his mouth. Now, I sometimes mess around with him [in Putonghua].”

When talking to local students, Tomi usually uses English as “local students can understand what [he] said [in English]”. But his Chinese comes into use and is even at times life-saving outside school.

“I was shopping with my friend who travelled here for vacation at the Ladies’ Market. I asked in Cantonese ‘ 唔 該 呢 個 幾 多 錢？’(Excuse me, how much does this costs?) and I got a ‘local price’ instead of a ‘tourist price’. Not bad, not bad…. I also went to Shenzhen with my friend to fix a broken phone screen. Apparently, the phone worked, and we got a normal price -- much cheaper than fixing in Hong Kong. And my friend and I could read the menu and order food at the restaurant there.”

Tomi’s Putonghua was the most useful during his trips in Mainland China. “I travelled to Yunnan, Beijing, Xiamen… (Q: Did you try to speak in Putonghua there?) Of course! No one speaks English!”

I always thought that learning Chinese is important for conversations between non-locals’ and locals. It turns out that the language barrier between locals and non-locals is hard to overcome, as it would take a long time for non-Chinese speakers to master this language.

To be honest, it will always be easier to ask a local to speak English rather than a non-local to speak Chinese. But after talking to Tomi, I realize that perhaps having completely fluent communication with locals was not the essential purpose of learning Chinese -- at least it is not as important as I thought. For non-locals, learning Chinese matters in the sense that it can broaden one’s experience of living in Hong Kong and deepen one’s connection to the local community. Although the changes can be slow and subtle, a change is a change after all.

18

Where to get information?

By Yvonne

Walking into the Chinese University of Hong Kong, you will receive a survival guide telling you the procedures to register courses, your academic requirements, etc. The information is necessary; but only knowing these, you may miss lots of essential news or fun subjects on campus. Hereby we will introduce some student organizations or platforms so you can always get yourself informed.

The Executive Committee of Student Union

Facebook: @CUHK.SU

The Executive Committee of Student Union provides welfare for undergraduates. For instance, a welfare week and a notebook ownership were held to distribute gift packs to students and provide certain brands of laptops at discounted prices respectively for the members.

Moreover, it would hold activities like art fairs and forums. By liking their Facebook page, you can obtain details such as welfare provision, art fair arrangements, or forums that you are interested in.

Besides informative posts, the Committee would also publish declarations to express its stances towards critical issues in the campus and society. For instance, this year the CUSU has released declarations on the disqualification of legislators. It has also expressed discontent on the poor arrangements concerning consultations of the appointment of the CUHK's next vice-chancellor.

Facebook: @cuspcusp

The Student Press

The CUHK Student Press (CUSP) is one of the campus media. We issue regular publications with both printed and online versions. The articles cover various topics including Campus, Society, Gender, etc. Our Facebook page “Chinese University Student Press� also posts about campus events and news issues from time to time. So...you may want to keep yourself updated. You can also contact us through the page if you have any enquiries.

In the past, the CUSP publications are mainly in Chinese, but this year we would like to make some difference. We would call for English contributions to let international students speak and share experiences with the local students. We also hope to provide more English contents about the campus and specific topics for English-readers. To better achieve this, we are recruiting students to join us in the upcoming English publication (details can be found on next page).

The Campus Radio

Facebook: @cuhkcampusradio

The Campus Radio produces audios and videos of diverse forms and topics--from street interviews to live broadcasts, from campus policies to government decisions, from students' dorm life to social discontent and processions, etc. For pre-orientation, the Campus Radio produces videos introducing different academic departments in CUHK. English subtitles are provided in these videos, so that English speakers may enjoy as well.

Facebook: @CUHKSecrets

CUHK Secrets

This is a high-reaching campus platform with CU people posting their thoughts and all sorts of topics anonymously. Many students would employ the advantage of the page in raising questions or sharing important matters. Though most of the discussions are written in Cantonese and you may not understand most of the posts, you can still submit English contents to share your thoughts and lead discussions.

ss e r P tre nt n e e d u C St in l K k n H a CU Fr n i m a Benj 7 0 RM3

Recruiting English Reporters

Interested in writing, designing or photography?

Eager to showcase your skills and share your experience?

Wishing to know more about the CUHK or the Hong Kong community?

Here comes a chance!

Come apply for our English team of student reporters. Both international and local students are welcome.

Details of application Where to apply: https://goo.gl/PgP25g Deadline for application: 25/9/2017

For any inquiries, please email cusp@cusp.hk or inbox the Facebook page of Chinese University Student Press.

20

ISA - An interview with Anju and Jessie

By Hazel Fok

ISA is a student-led organization established in 2008 (which is relatively young comparing to most societies in CUHK) to meet the expanding needs of international undergraduate students in the CUHK in the recent years. To understand more about their vision and activities, as well as, the daily operation of the committee, I have interviewed two executive committees from the cabinet of ISA this year -- Anju and Jessie.

What have you guys done ever since you inaugurated?

Jessie: From January to present, we have held the events like Pizza Night, Cycling, Kayaking, Journey to the World (with OSA), Tangyuan Workshop and so on. Even though it has only been a short period after the Inauguration, we have already worked on promoting an intercultural environment in CUHK. In this term, firstly we will hold the International Student Orientation Camp (ISO). Then, we will have more events like boat party and open semester dinner.

Q

What motivated you to become an ExCo member of ISA in the first place?

Jessie: I am an international student who joined ISO last year, and after camp I decided to join ISA. I feel ISA is one of few organizations which are trying the best to create a multicultural and international environment in CUHK. The ISA events have provided chances for communications for people from different origins. And such opportunity for conversation is what I valued the most. Nowadays, the world becomes harder to accept others’ idea. We have lost so many chances to realize everyone has their different reasons, backgrounds, and beliefs that influence their decisions, for example in politics. The worst thing ever is that people stop communicating with each other, and lost their interests to understand each other. And as non-local students in an unfamiliar place, to be friends with the people who share the same background and language is always much easier, and it can help you to adapt your college life quickly. We have already decided to come to such multicultural university, why should we limit our experiences? To communicate with different people gives me a chance to understand different viewpoints.

From what I have learned, the exco members of ISA come from different ethnic backgrounds, so how is the communication within the committee? Has the cultural difference ever bring any challenges to your cooperation?

Jessie: Well, we have committee members who come from all over the world -- Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China and Taiwan.

Anju: And our medium of communication is, as you would have guessed, English.

Jessie: Yet, as half of our committee members come from Indonesia, sometimes our group chat and meeting switched from English to Indonesian. My committee members sometimes taught me Indonesian after meetings. And one funny thing had happened due to the different English accents of our members. Back in January when we practiced the oath for our inauguration ceremony, our president Jovan read first, then we followed. And it turned out that our entire cabinet had read the oath with Indonesian accents; some of us did it on purpose while some were not aware of it. It was really funny.

Anju: In my opinion, I don’t believe cultural difference has ever brought any problems. And I feel the culture differences bring more benefits instead of challenges because we can always resolve our differences through discussion. We simply give honest opinions to each others’ proposals, and try to come up with a solution that pleases everyone.

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Instead of bringing problems, our cultural difference is helpful to our decision-making, especially when it comes to planning events. We won’t be limited by culture, the fixed pattern and tasks in camp (note: a lot of local societies are often criticized for blindly following traditions or copying the ways of work of their previous cabinets) and thus can bring a fresh and a better experience to all participants and helpers.

What is the difference between the role of ISA and student associations of different country of residences?

Anju: The members of country associations (i.e.: KSA, TSA, MUA, etc.) are usually exclusive to those belonging to the respective countries, whereas the members of ISA are inclusive of all international students (those who belong to country associations, as well as those who do not). In this sense, the role of ISA differs in that it is our job includes creating a space for students of diverse cultural backgrounds to meet and come together. We also act as the society for those whose countries are not represented by an association, which gives us the greater sense of responsibility to provide our members with a home-like sensation.

Jessie: Moreover, ISA has good relationships with other country student associations and can sometimes cooperate with each other. For example, activities held by ISA and other country associations never overlap. We will try to avoid scheduling the activity on days of other country student associations' activities as our target groups are pretty similar.

Since the general members of ISA all come from different parts of the world, how do you engage students of different backgrounds?

Jessie: Most of our activities, like boat party and pizza night, target to promote communication amongst our members who come from all around the world and participants who join our activities will have to interact with other a lot!

Anju: We hadn’t had any strategy in particular. Though if I had to say something, it might be reverting to a “common ground.” Though it is important to promote and learn about various cultures, the university already does enough to accomplish this. Hence, to bring students of different backgrounds together, we try to organize events that everyone can enjoy, such as pizza nights, dai pai tong, sporting events, etc.

Can you share some of the most unforgettable experiences you have had in ISA? Anju: Erm, one of my most unforgettable experience would be … having google pestering you about suspicious log-ins constantly (especially during semester breaks!) when it is just ExCo members logging into the single ISA account from our own respective homes in different countries.

Since you have inaugurated for half a year already, how do you feel? What is your plan (both society and personal (if any)) for the coming half a year?

Anju: It is hard to believe that half a year has already gone by; and it makes me sad to think that I only have another half a year left with my current committee members, also my friends. As a society, we would like to bring as much fun and entertainment to our existing members as well as our new incoming members while we are still able to do so!

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CU Ghost Story Competition Editor’s note: The campus of CUHK is huge, and as you can imagine, a lot of supernatural incidents happened here all year around. The editors have chosen some of the most horrifying ghost stories of CUHK to share with you. Be mindful, these are not some stories that we editors have made up, these are all urban legends that have passed down in ocamps from generation to generation - yet, perhaps they are not only legends, but real-life incidents that with trace evidences...

Back in the 70s when the Chinese University of Hong Kong was first established, many stowaways who wish to flee from the political turmoil in Mainland China would just hop off trains and buses nearby the university and hid themselves for a day or two in the woods before reaching the urban areas of Hong Kong. [1] At that time, some generous CU students would bring food and clothes to these illegal immigrant. And one night, during the students’ regular visit to the woods, they discovered a terrifying tragedy.

Bride Path Champion

It was a freezing night. This young lady with a long braid had travelled a long way to H o n g Ko n g f ro m M a i n l a n d in hopes of fleeing from the chaotic . To her surprise, she noticed that the police had set a roadblock ahead of the road.

In fear of being repatriated back to the Mainland, she decided to escape by hopping off the bus.

At the moment she hopped out of the vehicle, her long black braid was unexpectedly caught by the window frame.

Her scalp and face were torn off in no time, leaving a face with nothing but blood and dangling skin. She continued to walk along the muddy road, and finally collapsed and died at the path between Chung Chi College Student Canteen and Hua Lien Tang.

The cop arrived soon after the students discovered her corpse. And the story should have ended when the police cleared the scary scene. However, another night when a male student walked through the same path, he saw a lady with long braid walking in front of him. It was rarely for a girl to be out there so late, therefore, he decided to check her out. And when he finally walked near her, what he saw was a lady with no face!

[1] Due to political reasons, there has been an influx of immigrants from People’s Republic of China from the 1950s to 1980s. To halt this influx of immigrants, Hong Kong Government adopted Touch Base Policy in 1974. Under Touch Base Policy, immigrants from Mainland China who reached the urban areas and reunited with this relatives can stay in Hong Kong legally as citizens, yet those intercepted at the border would be repatriated immediately. //This article was originally published as《鬼故》in《中大四十年》//

Room 111, Grace Tien Hall First runner up in Top Ghost Stories In the late 80s, two boys, a Electronic engineering student and a medical student, lived in room 111 of Grace Tien Hall. Both of them were hardworking students and they lived harmoniously. However, one night, when the engineering student was studying for exam alone, he decided that academic pressure he faced was too hard to bear and committed suicide. He used the electronic boards and tools that was meant to be used for his assignments, like copper wire, battery, soldering kit, as well as his alarm clock to build a timed-suicide device. He then wrapped copper wire around his body and connected it to the device. At the preset time, the power of the device turned on automatically and bolts of electricity strikes him on site. He was electrocuted on his bed, under the blanket he put over his own body earlier. His body was terribly burnt and some tiles

of the floor were soaked into the color of blood.

The next morning, his roommate, the medical student, went back to the room after revising the library overnight. He thought his roommate was just sleeping and didn’t give any second thought. And only after a day had he realized his roommate’s death. The medical student had suffered from mental illness ever since.

In order to comfort the scared students, the university staff decided to rearrange the room numbers of the first floor of Grace Tien Hall so that newcomers would never know which room is Room 111. However, some seniors have always said that it is easy to tell which room was the former Room 111. You can simply tell by the red tile of the room.

Oxtail Soup Long ago, there was a young couple living in Bethlehem Hall of United College. Both of them were medical students. Same as other residential halls, female residents lived on the upper floors while male lived on the lower floors. People believed that this separation of sexes could prevent sexual harassments like peeping.

For most of the time, this young couple revised in their own rooms till late night. Back then, there were no internet, cellphones or pagers. Each day after the guest visiting hours, the girl would always let down a bowl of oxtail soup with a rope to her lover’s

window. She released the rope bit by bit until the jar reached the boy’s window. The bowl of soup warmed his heart every time after the long hours of revision.

One night, the boy got the oxtail soup as usual. He drank the soup, read a book and fell asleep as usual.

He went up and looked for his girlfriend the next morning. But he was completely taken aback when his girlfriend’s roommate told him that she had been dead from acute diseases a few days ago. The boy felt abnormally sad. And he wondered…who prepared the ox tail soup these days...

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A beginner's route in discovering Hong Kong — Central

By Louie Yan Dating back to the days when Hong Kong is not yet famous for stretching her stunning skyline, Central has been a quaint neighbourhood with flourishing east and west hybrid of arts, food and culture. The coexistence of history splinters and modern glitters in Central will be a perfect starting point for you to step into the city of Hong Kong.

We invite you to take self-guided walk with us to walk into this microcosm of the city.

1st Stop: Man Mo Temple 文武廟

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This temple situated in Hollywood Road built in Qing Dynasty (1847 A.D.), was a dedication to 2 gods: King Man and Holy King Kwan. They are the gods of “Man” ( 文 ) and “Mo” ( 武 ) respectively. “Man” means “Civil” and “Mo” means “Martial” literally in Chinese. This history-steeped artifact will show you the marks and lights from the old days.

2 2nd Stop: Pottinger Street/Stone Slab Street 石板街 History laid behind the stone slabs spanning unevenly on Pottinger Street is that it is originally the pavement for coolies and commuters to walk on, the design of the uneven stone steep is to facilitate easy walking along the steep street and rainwater to flow down. Stalls are still kept till nowadays selling festive costumes and local handicrafts since 19th century,

Man Mo Temple 文武廟 PMQ 元創方 Street art on Hollywood Ro Dr Sun Yat-Sen Museum 孫中山紀念館

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3rd Stop: Street art on Hollywood Road 街頭藝術

4th Stop: Dr Sun Yat-Sen Museum 孫中山紀念館

Murals and art pieces are highlights when you strolling across the Hollywood road towards the next destination. The hybrid of historical building and modern art work will keep your eyes busy along the road of transition!

In this graceful century-old Kom Tong Hall, featuring over a hundred invaluable historical artifacts, you will experience the memory of this great revolutionary Chinese statesman and discover the close relationship between his life and Hong Kong.

5 Road 街頭藝術

Pottinger Street/Stone Slab Street 石板街

5th Stop: PMQ 元創方 PMQ, with historical significance of being the Queen’s College and Police Married Quarters in last centuries, has been revitalized since 2009 as a hub for local design and creative industries. You can even enjoy a cup of tea in the roof-top restaurant and carry on your exploration of local creativity in the exhibition space! What a cool wrap-up for the journey!

May we wish you a nice day in Hong Kong!

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The Varsity of Variety Peeking into the periscopic English news magazine

By Selena Liang

The realization of an unwise decision came to me, too late, as the first English issue of Student Press was due for publication soon.

Flipping through the pages of Varsity Issue 144, I wondered how I could (or if I should) write about the award-winning magazine with an immature pen. Anyways, the deal was sealed. I had to introduce the incomparable Varsity—a news magazine by CUHK School of Journalism and Communication. Aiming at the English speaking (and of course reading) audience, Varsity is a monthly issue that introduces and analyzes Hong Kong local issues.

“News happens every single day. But [instead of daily/instant news,] we usually do longer features that give more depth to an issue,” says Catherine Chiang, a Taiwanese student reporter at Varsity. “It’s not that reactive to daily things, so it’s not that overwhelming [especially] for non-local students.”

Catherine is one of the few international students at Varsity. She was trained for a semester before starting to work on published stories and has then participated in two issues and a video making. She expresses that being in Varsity has deepened her connection with Hong Kong, as she has come into contact with lots of local issues that she otherwise would not have noticed.

“You’ll know more about other sides of Hong Kong.”

Varsity has a broad range of columns, spanning “Periscope,” “Our Community,” “People,” “Varsity’s Choice,” “Lifestyle,” “Photo Story,” “Multimedia” etc.

“Periscope” and “Our Community” are considered hard news.

“Periscope” presents three stories revolving one central theme. For instance, under the theme “20 years later” (referring to the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong handover), the stories separately examine 1) the right of abode issue, 2) how education has changed regarding language, and 3) how the attitude towards mainland Chinese had changed. The theme of Periscope is usually also the primary subject of the issue. As for “Our Community,” it is not themed and covers

a variety of social problems. The story of Catherine (and her partner Jody Yu) was named “Children come first?”, exploring how the co-parenting law affected victims of domestic abuse.

“Others are considered softer news, but not entirely soft,” Catherine says, “Like Varsity’s Choice is not we choose a restaurant that we think is good and we write about it, though I wish it could be like that.” The column is not about a personal choice or recommendation but has to reflect a trend or bear a message. For example, Catherine’s friend penned an article “Being vegan”, which illustrates the codes, conveniences, and difficulties of vegans, as well as the situation of vegan restaurants and the growing local interests in vegetarian food. The Photo column also features other fun and meaningful stories, such as the roaming cows in Lantau Island and their protection, twins of different ages and their lives, skateboarding’s entry into the Olympics and skaters’ disliking etc.

“It is a very diverse range of topics, so you aren’t usually forced to do (or read) something that you’re not that interested in,” says Catherine.

Apart from the regular columns, Varsity also has special operations when instant news would be posted on its Facebook Page. It usually occurred when “something big happens”, such as the Chief Executive Election and the Umbrella Revolution. Students would be sent to conduct on-the-spot interviews and immediate reporting.

The participation in Specials is voluntary and ungraded for the student reporters. Catherine knows Varsity students who are very excited about Specials, but she prefers not to due to the already-immense workload. The political nature of such events can also be another factor.

“As politics is always very complicated in any region, and I don’t feel that qualified especially as a non-local student to understand all of the facets of Hong Kong politics, because there are lots of people and lots of history that I don’t necessarily know about.”

Catherine, therefore, feels comfortable that “Varsity doesn’t usually cover lots of political stuff”, a claim agreed by Doris Yu, a year three local student of Varsity. Doris says, “Considering that some non-local reporters and audience may not be very familiar with Hong Kong political situations, Varsity is relatively less political than other news media.” Instead, Varsity focuses more on the social phenomenon and communal issues.

Catherine says, pausing for a while, “Hearing her having gone through all of that and seeing her still like…Strong, like she still loves her children and she’s still willing to do a lot for them. That was the moment that really hit me emotionally.”

“I was so grateful to have done that story, like to be able to get her story out there, I felt like I was doing something meaningful,” says Catherine, “I feel like this is the type of thing I really care about...I think we need to care about stuff, cause if we don’t care about the people around us, then what’s the point?”

“I think humans should care about other humans because that’s how we improve as a species and that’s how we make sure that everyone has equal rights and equal chance. I do feel like as a person; we should care.”

The stories of Varsity are not only accessible through the magazine itself, but many are also featured in the Hong Kong Free Press. “So it’s still like good journalism? I guess?” says Catherine with a smile.

“We also emphasize new angles and insights,” Doris says, “and sometimes the experience of non-locals can help generate that.”

Doris speaks of a mainland student’s article that compares the “keyboard warriors” of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

The student has been a user and observer of Baidu forum (a popular online forum in the mainland) and has also learned about the local Golden forum through his local friends. He has seen varying degrees of nationalism involved in different platforms, and the idea of comparison pops up.

“I really love that article,” says Doris, adding that lots of Hong Kong people have written about the local cyberculture before, yet the non-local student’s unique experience is the key to such new news perspective.

On the other hand, non-local student reporters may also experience greater difficulty due to the language barrier. The major obstacle would be conducting interviews, which are required for every single story, as the interviewees may not speak English.

Doris once partnered a half-Britain, half-Macanese student (who is very fluent in English but knows little Chinese) to interview a retired professor. The professor used lots of Chinese idioms, and the non-local student was perplexed. Doris would then try to fill the gap in interviews, and her partner would contribute more in writing.

Catherine, who was also paired with a local student reporter, says, “There are times when the language barrier is very evident, but I’m grateful that I was able to go through the Cantonese interviews with my partner’s help. Usually it’s my partner that did most of the speaking, but I can follow along for some of it and contribute in different ways such as taking the photos.”

Catherine also feels fortunate that most of the interviewees she met can speak English, and the communication with them “really hit” her.

“Interviews are times when you get to meet very cool people you otherwise wouldn’t have met.”

Catherine recalled interviewing a domestic violence survivor for evaluation of the proposed joint custody law. The survivor has divorced, but the court requires her to co-parent the children with her ex-husband. Such requirement has indirectly extended the abuse. To make matters worse, the welfare officer has not helped her but doubted her evidence and even the words of her five-year-old daughter.

“When I was hearing, I was really affected by it, like this was a real human being who is going to be affected by this law……”,

Distribution Points at CUHK: NA College Canteen United College Canteen Shaw College Canteen Benjamin Franklin Centre Student Canteen Postgraduate Halls Yali Guest House Chung Chi College Student Canteen Website: http://varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk/index.php/about/ Facebook: Varsity CUHK

Hong Kong Free Press -- An independent English online news By Hazel Fok Hong Kong Free Press is an online English-only newspaper started by independent journalists. “There has been a flourishing of independent Chinese media in Hong Kong, but nothing on the English side, really,” said Tom Grundy, the editor of Hong Kong Free Press, in an interview with BBC. “We [the editors] saw some of that gap in the occupy movement in 2014… we want to give that minute-by-minute coverage to what was happening in post-occupy Hong Kong,” said Tom, explaining his idea of launching an English online news service initially.

This free and non-profit media was founded in the wake of the suspicion of political self-censorship in many news companies. And the editors of Hong Kong Fress Press has vowed to defend HK’s press freedom, which has been declining. “No-one can buy shares in HKFP,” as stated firmly on HKFP’s website, has expressed its independence from any media conglomerate. And if you are looking for channels to understand more about Hong Kong news and culture, Hong Kong Fress Press which is now an alternative to South China Morning Post, a mainstream English newspaper, is here for you.

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Contribution

It’s Going to be Okay: a message to the uncertain freshman

By Chiang Yi Ching Catherine

“Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be this hard” – the Scientist, Coldplay

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wo years ago, on August 24th, I left Taiwan

to start my freshman year in Hong Kong. I started crying the moment I said goodbye to my parents, and continued to cry all the way through security until I was sitting at the gate waiting to board the place. I was filled with worry; worried that I would be unable to fit in this new environment, worried that I would let my parents down, and most worried that I had made the wrong decision in deciding to come to Hong Kong.

It has been two years since then, and there are still days when I wonder if I did the right thing. There are still days when I think to myself, “What if?”

I know that many of you will not feel the same confusion as I did about my decision, and I know that many of you will have no problems in fitting into CUHK, and might even consider it your second home. I know people who learned Cantonese at an astonishing speed, who found close friends within the first month of being here, who had no doubt whatsoever that they had made the right decision.

And to those people, I say congratulations, and you probably don’t have to keep reading this article (though I would appreciate it if you did).

But for those of you who are still a bit unsure, who feel like everything is overwhelming, who feel alone in this city of seven million people, here are four things I feel that you should know.

First of all, give yourself time to make friends. You are in a new place, surrounded by new people, and sometimes friends don’t come as quickly as you want them to. I started panicking when I realized that people around me all seemed to have cliques and friend groups, and I was the odd one out. I felt like I was the only person who had not yet found “their people”. Keep in mind that CUHK is a big school, and the people that you hold most dear may not come into your life until later. So be patient, choose courses and do things that you are interested in, and trust that the people you are meant to meet, you will meet.

Secondly, it’s okay to feel like you have no idea what you are doing. To be honest, I don’t think anyone really knows what they’re doing, it’s

just that we only see the outward confidence that everyone projects and none of the turmoil underneath. University is a time for exploration, for trying new things, and learning more about who you are and what you want your path to be. It’s okay to not have a concrete plan of action for your life.

Though you may feel like you are the only person who is lost, I can assure you that you are not.

Thirdly, talk to people. Talk to your parents, your siblings, your new friends, your old friends. Talk to the school counselors, talk to your academic advisor, talk to sophomores, juniors, seniors. You don’t have to go through everything alone. I know that it is scary to feel like you are laying your problems on someone else, but it is extremely helpful to process your experiences with other people. Talking is a good way of not letting everything build up inside you, and you may find, as I did, that you are not the only person who is going through a tough time.

And lastly, it’s okay not to be okay sometimes.

When my parents came to visit me for the first time and then left again, I was so sad I would start crying listening to songs whilst walking to the library. I would start crying seeing Taiwanese drinks in the supermarket because I missed home. Basically, I would spontaneously burst into tears, and I had an emotional breakdown almost every single day for two weeks. It’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed and unsure. Sometimes, we just have to recognize our feelings, feel our feelings, and then let them go. No one is at their 100% all the time. Learn to process your emotions, instead of burying them under the rug and pretending they’re not there.

I’m about to enter my third year in CUHK, and even though my life in Hong Kong isn’t perfect, I have carved a place for myself that I am proud of, I have met people I cherish dearly, and I have embarked on opportunities I have never even dreamt of. I have overcome many hardships, and I will continue to overcome more in the future.

I’m going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.

It’s all going to be okay.

I wish you the best of luck, Catherine

In February, our cabinet Glow was running for the Student Press, we took videos interviewing several international students to know more about their lives in CUHK. The links to the videos are as follows: In dialogue with international students - On-campus Activities https://goo.gl/HQSz8B In dialogue with international students - On Canteens https://goo.gl/FT17wz In dialogue with international students - On Academics https://goo.gl/AwjvXp

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Editorial Board: Editors: Hazel Fok , Selena Liang, Yvonne Li, Louie Yan Designers: Mars Ho, Yvonne Li, David Hip, Danny Tung, Bess Chow Special thanks should be given to Chase, Tomi, Anson, Catherine and Doris, Anju and Jessie, Romario and Rachel, RTHK, Chinese University Campus Radio, The Executive Committee of Student Union and ISA. Contact information Glow, Chinese University Student Press 2017-2018 Email: cusp@cusp.hk Website: http://cusp.hk Facebook: @cuspcusp