Spring 2005 - Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong

DEAN’S MESSAGE
There are considerable press reports
recently suggesting that we opposed
the establishment of a third law school.
This is not quite accurate. Our basic
position is that we do welcome healthy
competition. Our concerns are twofold.
First, this is a decision of major
importance to Hong Kong. There is very
little public discussion on whether there
should be three law schools in Hong
Kong. This is not a private initiative but a
proposal involving a huge amount of
public funding. The public is at least
entitled to know and to debate on the
justifications and the need for setting up
a third law school, and whether this is
the best way to use public funding to
achieve whatever might be the
purposes identified for setting up a third
law school. Secondly, if there is a need
for more law students (and indeed we
believe so), then more resources should
be allocated to this cause. Compared
with the situation 5 years ago, there is
no net increase in the number of law
students produced, yet they are to be
produced by 3 different law schools
under the proposal.
Another recent debate is on mixed
mode funding of our PCLL. So far,
we have been averaging out the
costs of UGC funded places and
self-funded places in our PCLL
programme and manage to
charge an annual
tuition fee of $55,000.
But this will terminate
at the end of the
urrent academic year.
Last year the UGC
decided that, as a
matter of policy, mixed
mode funding would
no longer be allowed
as it involved cross
subsidy for self-funded
programme. As a
result, from 2005-06
onwards, we have to
charge two separate fees, one at
$42,100, the UGC-funded level, and
another at $95,000, the self-funded
level, when students of these two
streams attend the same class, are
taught by the same teacher, and take
the same examination. Coupled with a
reduction in UGC-funded PCLL places,
the likely result is that some good
students would not be able to complete
their legal qualification because of
financial reason.
We argued for the continuation of
the mixed mode funding policy, as it
would enable us to educate more
qualified students without costing
more for the Government. The
UGC should be concerned with
the quality rather than the
number. The UGC simply repeated its
stance of not permitting cross subsidy.
But what’s wrong with cross subsidy if
the same amount of public funding can
benefit more people and the quality is
maintained? With a declining budget for
the universities, how could we produce
enough graduates to meet the
challenges of moving towards a
knowledge economy if the University is
not allowed to use public funding in an
innovative and flexible manner? In 1999
the Government adopted a rigid stance
against Mainland born children to have
the right of abode in Hong Kong, on the
ground that the community could not
afford it. Five years later the Chief
Secretary is urging Hong Kong people
to give birth to more children. Are we
going to repeat the same story in tertiary
education? The UGC owes the public a
satisfactory answer.
Professor Johannes Chan, SC
February 2005
FACULTY CONTACT
Faculty of Law,
The University of Hong Kong
4/F, K K Leung Building,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
Tel : (825) 2859 2951
Editors
Richard Wu Associate Dean
E-mail: richwswu@hku.hk
Youn Ling Public Relations Officer
E-mail: yling@hku.hk
Carol Chen Faculty Development Officer
E-mail: csychen@hku.hk
Fax: (852) 2559 3543
We hope you will find this newsletter interesting and informative. We welcome
Website: www.hku.hk/law
your comments and suggestions on further ways to improve the content and
format of the newsletter.
Article submissions are most welcome. Please send in by fax or e-mail.
24
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35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Cover photo: Members of Class 1973
reunited with their former teachers at the
anniversary dinner.
35th Anniversary Events 2-8
• Homecoming
• Reunion Dinner
• Coming Highlight
Special Feature 9-11
• Anna Wu on the Role of Law
Faculty News 11-19
• University Teaching Fellowship Awards
2003-04
• Introducing the new Part-time PCLL
• New Faces
• Public Lectures, Conferences and
Events held
• A new Lecture Series for the
profession and the public
• A New Project — Community Legal
Information Centre (CLIC) Website
• Upcoming Events
Alumni Column 20 -23
• News from The HKU Law Alumni
Association
• Janet Hui: “One country, two homes –
life and career of a Hong Kong lawyer
in Beijing”
• Alice Choy: “In Memory of Annabella
Wong”
Dean’s message 24
A note from the President of
the HKU Law Alumni Association,
Kenneth Kwok SC
(LLB 1972 PCLL 1973)
The Law Alumni Association helped the Faculty in hosting the
Homecoming on 6 November 2004. The kids loved the magician, the
little pig and the 35th anniversary t-shirt designed by a second year law
student. The t-shirt, for alumni and kids, comes in 3 colours.
The Law Association, HKUSU, worked closely with the Faculty and
us on the Homecoming, the Re-union Dinner held on 4 December
2004 and the 35th anniversary publication, “Building for
Tomorrow on Yesterday’s Strength”.
The Vice-Chancellor commended that the Reunion Dinner “was
indeed a memorable and meaningful event, with members of the
Faculty of Law family spanning over three decades coming together in
the spirit of reunion”. Mr. Peter Rhodes (Dean, 1987-1993) told us that
4 December was “a most enjoyable evening and a great pleasure to
meet many of [his] former students and colleagues”. Professor
Johannes Chan, SC, Dean, had received many compliments from
alumni and friends and he thought that credit should go to the team
which had worked so hard to make the re-union a success. Professor
Michael Wilkinson, however, complained. He could not sleep that night
because of over-excitement.
Peter enjoyed reading “Building for Tomorrow on Yesterday’s
Strength” and “found it to be well organized, well presented and
informative [and] brought back many happy memories of [his] time at
the Law Faculty”.
The publication looked “excellent and a valuable contribution to
the history of the faculty” to Professor Peter Wesley-Smith (Dean 1993-
1996).
Please go to http://www.hku.hk:8400/law/upload/images/ll_
press_eng2.doc to read more about the publication. Better still, fill in
the enclosed order form or buy it at the Faculty Office or the University
Book Store at HKU.
Home is where the heart lies
Richard Wu
Convenor of the Homecoming Sub-Committee
When the Law Faculty celebrated its 30th Anniversary in
1999, it hosted the first Homecoming for its alumni and
friends. It was such a great success that the Law Faculty
and Law Alumni Association decided to host another
Homecoming when they started to plan for the 35th
anniversary celebration programmes.
Talk Show by (from left)
Mr. Mohan Bharwaney
(LLB 1976),
Mr. Lawrence Lok SC
(LLB 1977) and
Mr. Kumar Ramanathan
(LLB 1976).
Professor Johannes
Chan SC, Dean of
the Faculty (first
from left), greeted
homecoming alumni
of the ’70s.
On 6th November 2004, the Homecoming was held in
Rayson Huang Theatre to mark the beginning of the 35th
Anniversary celebrations of the Law Faculty. Over 150 alumni and
friends of the faculty attended the event. Many alumni brought
their young children to their alma mater for the first time and
the Homecoming became a reunion of different generations of a
big family.
Highlights of the event include performances by current
students and alumni from different generations: a piano duet
by Mr. Edmund Cham and
Mr. Peter Fan (alumni from
the 90s), a magic show by
Mr. Vincent Chen (a current law
student), a muppet show by
Mr. Justice Louis Tong, Mr.
Justice Johnson Lam and His
Honour Judge Barnabas Fung
(alumni from the 80s) and a talk
show by Mr. Lawrence Lok SC,
Mr. Mohan Bharwaney and Mr. Mr. Justice Geoffrey Ma, Chief Judge of
Kumar Ramanathan (alumni High Court, was invited to take part in the
magic show performed by Vincent Chen.
from the 70s). Masters of
Ceremony for the event were
Ms. Susan Johnson (LLB 1975) and Mr. William Wong (a current
law student).
The performances were followed by an inspiring speech given
by the Honourable Mr. Justice Patrick Chan, an alumnus of our
faculty and now a Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal.
Mr. Moses Cheng, another alumnus from the 70s, then led the
current Law Association Exco members and the audience in
singing the Law Anthem, which aptly concluded the afternoon’s
programme.
Home is where the heart lies.
To those alumni (and also their
children) who attended the
Homecoming, we hope that it will
be a heart warming experience
that they would remember for
years to come.
Speech by Mr. Justice Chan, PJ.
Mr. Moses Cheng
(LLB 1972) (centre)
led the law students
and the audience in
singing the Law
Anthem.
Members of the Homecoming Sub-Committee
Ms. Denise Chan (LLB 1990)
The Hon Mr. Justice Chan, PJ (LLB 1974)
Mr. Augusto da Roza (LLB 1973)
Ms. Yeda Hong (LLB 1999)
Mr. Kenneth Kwok SC (LLB 1972)
Ms. Rebecca Lee (LLB 2001)
Ms. Jacklyn Ng (LLB 1981)
Ms. Youn Ling (LLB 1997, Public Relations Officer)
A muppet mock trial (
15 children of the alumni.
) staged by alumni from the ’80s and
2 3

35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Reunion Dinner LOKE YEW HALL, 4 DECEMBER 2004
(From left) Lucille Au,
Alice Tai, Mr. Justice
Suffiad, Andrew Liao SC,
Mabel Lee and Philip Lee
at the pre-dinner cocktail.
Moses Cheng (LLB 1972)
conducting the Law Anthem as
the finale of the evening’s
programme.
Linus Cheung (left)
and Professor K M
Cheng were two of the
honourable guests of
the Faculty at the
Dinner.
Also having an exchange over drinks at the cocktail were: (from left)
Professor Johannes Chan SC, Henry Fan, Treasurer of the University,
Professor Michael Wilkinson and Alan Leong SC.
The evening’s programme was very much
livened up by the excellent performance
of the four Masters of Ceremony: Lo Mun Yi
(PCLL 2002) and Cheung Wing Leung
(LLB 1990) (below), Mimmie Chan (LLB
1980) and Wesley Wong (LLB 1992) (left).
The excited pair, Robert Allcock and Cordelia Chung (LLB 1982),
won in the game “Who claims to be a Faculty Expert”. The other
contestants: (from left) Lester Huang (LLB 1982), Angela Ho (LLB
1984), Kenneth Sit (LLB 1980) and Susan Johnson (LLB 1975) lost
only by a narrow margin.
Members of the Reunion Dinner Sub-Committee:
Mr. Joseph Tse (LLB 1982) (Convenor)
Ms. Bonnie Chan (LLB 1989)
Ms. Denise Chan (LLB 1990)
(From left) Mrs. Rhodes,
Peter Rhodes (former Dean of
the faculty), Dr. Felix Chan
and Mr. Wilson Chow (both of
the Faculty) joined the others
in singing the Law Anthem.
Mr. Augusto da Roza (LLB 1973)
Ms. Carmen Fung (LLB 2001)
The Reunion Dinner Sub-Committee of the HKULAA took a
picture with the Dean and the MCs of the evening after the dinner.
Mr. Martin Hui (LLB 1994)
Ms. Francoise Lam (LLB 1986)
Ms. Carol Chen (LLB 1982, Faculty Development Officer)
Ms. Jessica Chan (representative of Law Association, HKUSU)
(above) Kenneth Kwok SC, President
of the HKU Law Alumni Association
which hosted the Reunion Dinner,
(right) Professor Lap-Chee Tsui,
Vice-Chancellor of HKU and (below)
Professor Johannes Chan SC, Dean of
the Faculty of Law, each gave a speech
before the dinner.
A moment of fun:
guess who got the
table prizes? (From
left) Joseph Tse,
Margaret Ng and
Robert Allcock.
A HAPPY REUNION FOR US ALL
(CLASS PHOTOS):
The old teachers were happily flanked by their former students from Class
1972 (the first batch of law graduates). In the front row (from left) are Mrs.
Evans, Mrs. Ribeiro, Professor Evans, Mr. Justice Ribeiro PJ, Alan Smith,
Bernard Downey and Professor Rear.
Another memorable line-up of
four L.A. Chairmen down the
line: (from left) Alan Leong
SC, Albert Yau, Erik Shum
(both practicing as barrister)
and Cherry Chan (now
partner at Clifford Chance).
A memorable line-up of four of the earliest Chairmen in the history
of the Law Association (student body of the law students) (from
left): Andrew Liao SC, Robert Lynn (now senior partner at JSM),
Mr. Justice Suffiad and Mr. Justice Cheung, JA.
Members of Class 1974.
Members of Class 1975.
Members of Class 1977 and some of their spouses.
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35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
SOME MEMORABLE MOMENTS
TO SHARE:
Professor Tsui and Professor Chan
(first and second from left in the
back row) with Class 1986.
A happy get-together for members of Class 1985.
Madam Justice Yuen (LLB 1975)
gave a warm greeting to her
former teacher Bernard Downey.
Members of Class 1980.
The event was graced by the presence of
Christopher Cheng (first from left), Dr. Philip
Wong and the Vice-Chancellor (second and first
from right).
Members of Class 1981
with their former
teacher, Robert Allcock.
More than 20
members of Class
1982 attended the
Reunion.
Ms. Bernadette Tsui,
Director of the
DAAO, HKU, with
Kenneth Kwok SC
and Edward Chan SC
(both graduates of
Class 1972).
Graduates from different years gathered together: (from
left) Audrey Eu SC (LLB 1975), Janice Kwan (LLB 1979),
Alice Tai (LLB 1973), Anne Choi (LLB 1975), Lucy Yen,
Amy Liu (both LLB 1972) and Yvonne Chua (LLB 1977).
Members of Class 1987 and Class 1996.
Margaret Ng was having a chat with
Denis Chang SC (left) and Professor
Yash Ghai of the Faculty (right).
Dr. Miron Mushkat and Professor Roda
Mushkat bidding farewell to Mrs. Rhodes.
A group of Class 1983.
About 40 members from
their Class were present
on this memorable
occasion.
Joseph Tse (third from right at the back row)
with colleagues at Allen & Overy.
Joseph Tse (third from right in the back row)
with colleagues at Allen & Overy.
The guests were having a relaxed
and good time.
(From left) Master de Souza, Daisy
Tong, Amy Liu, Lucy Yen, Mok
Yeuk Chi and Ronny Tong SC (all of
Class 1972).
Members of Class 1984.
Lucille Au (left) and Au Miu Po (right) both
of Class 1973 with Professor Evans.
Taking one more picture with the founding and former teachers before
leaving the Hall (from left): Professor Rear, Janice Kwan, Bernard
Downey, Professor Evans, Katherine Lo (LLB 1979), Robert Allcock
and Professor Albert Chen of the Faculty.
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35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
SPECIAL FEATURE
About 300 alumni attended the Reunion Dinner held at Loke
Yew Hall on 4 December 2004. A big “THANK YOU” must be
extended to the Law Alumni Association and the Reunion
Dinner Organizing Sub-Committee for their tireless efforts
in making the occasion such a happy reunion for those who
came. Yet such a good turnout would not have been possible
without the help of some twenty “class representatives” of
the different LLB classes. To all of them the faculty is deeply
gateful for their invaluable support. Here is an account by
one of our dedicated “class representatives” of how she
managed to persuade 38 of her old classmates to come to
the Reunion Dinner.
A happy reunion for Caroline (first from left in the back row) and her old
classmates at the Dinner.
It all began with the reading of the last issue of this Newsletter.
Eva Lau of my class wrote an article about her days in the Law
School (as it then was) and beyond. Having read it, I have come to
realize that I actually do not know much about my classmates,
although I was considered a very active person in my class then.
The notes I took at lectures were hot lending items, certainly not
because of their quality (as for such a purpose the notes of Mabel
Ng would be preferred) but because of my slavish attendance at all
lectures, they being so enjoyable to me then. Quite a few persons
who could not make it at the appointed time for such
bestowments of intelligence by our dear lecturers would ask to
make photocopies of my notes. In view of this and also in view of
the small size of the class then, I knew each of my classmates to
different degrees.
After having left the Law School for twenty years, I am still in
constant contact with a good bunch of my friends. There are also a
few handfuls that I bumped into from time to time and had had a
good chat on such occasions. To me, all these moments were
cherishing and often endearing. If only they could be shared by all
my other classmates. It was then that the thought of seizing this
opportunity of having a reunion on the occasion of the dinner to
celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the now Law Faculty came to
me. I personally called each of the classmates that I could think of
and still had their contacts. The turnout was impressive.
I might not have been able to catch up on all that had
happened to my classmates during the dinner, but I have the
feeling that we all had a good time. The smiles on our faces in the
photographs tell me that we are almost ready for another reunion
already. Wait to hear from me, dear friends. I hope I will be meeting
more of you the next time.
COMING HIGHLIGHT:
International Conference on Professional Ethics
19 & 21 March 2005
Professional ethics has become a topical issue not only for the
legal profession but also the community in recent years. As part of
the 35th Anniversary celebration programmes, the Law Faculty will
host an international conference on professional ethics on HKU
campus on 19 March 2005 (Saturday). The conference will bring
together leading local and international professionals and
academics to discuss and share views on current issues in judicial
and lawyers’ ethics in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions. Many
distinguished speakers are invited to participate in the conference.
The morning session of the conference will focus on the topic of
“Judicial Ethics” and the speakers will include The Honourable
Sir Anthony Mason (Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of
Final Appeal) and The Honourable Mr. Justice Patrick Chan
(Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal). The
afternoon session will cover the topic of “Lawyer Ethics” and the
speakers will include Mr. Edward Chan SC (Past Chairman of
the Bar Association), Mr. Peter Lo (Vice President of Law
Society), and Professor Adrian Evans from Monash
University, Australia. After the conference, all speakers will
assemble in Beijing the following day to attend a similar conference
on professional ethics co-organized by our faculty and Tsinghua
Caroline Chow (LLB 1983)
Law School to be held on 21 March. This represents another
important collaboration between the two law schools in areas of
common interests and concerns.
We welcome you to attend the conference held on campus on
19 March. Please visit our faculty website for more information on
the conference and registration details. We look forward to seeing
you at the conference!
Professor Adrian Evans
Mr. Edward Chan SC
Mr. Peter Lo
Anna Wu on
The Role of Law
Anna Wu (LLB 1974, PCLL 1975), a graduate of our Faculty,
is widely respected by both the legal profession and the
community at large. She is currently the Chairperson of the
PCLL Academic Board of our Faculty, in which role she
oversees the reform of our PCLL programme. In this article,
Anna shares with us her interesting life journey from being a
law student through careers in both the private and public
sectors to her current position as the Adviser to the Law
School of Shantou University.
The 35th anniversary night
of the Law Faculty was truly
a stellar and memorable
occasion. Graduates and
teachers gathered at Loke Yew
Hall – the place that marked the
beginning of higher learning in
Hong Kong. The Law Faculty
first started in a two low twostorey
buildings at the junction
of Seymour Road and Caine
Road, with stairs so narrow that
only one person could get
through at any one time, housed
the students, the teaching and
administrative staff and a small
library. There was a small
common room for students.
Generally the students gathered in the library, eating, chatting until
we were shooed away by someone. These buildings are now long
gone and have been replaced by a park.
The establishment of the Law Department in 1969 marked the
beginning of locally educated and qualified lawyers. Beginning with
the small close knit group of law students closeted away at Caine
Road, came the lawyers, judges, legislators, heads of public
bodies, government officials, leaders in business, education and
the community. This was a remarkable feat and a significant move
for Hong Kong. It was important for Hong Kong to have an
institution to sustain the development of the profession
and to build a community of professionals deeply rooted in
Hong Kong.
I wish to pay my heartfelt tributes to those who started it,
Professor Dafydd Evans, the first Dean, and those who were
there with him, Mr. Bernard Downey and Professor John Rear
of the original teaching staff, as well as Mr. Peter Rhodes, a later
Dean, who attended the dinner celebration. Then came the generation
of teaching staff who themselves were graduates of the Law Faculty.
This group of teachers is represented by Professor Johannes Chan
and Professor Albert Chen. I give them three big cheers.
I remember applying to the University of Hong Kong to study law
over three decades ago. My public exam results were barely good
enough for me to enter the University of Hong Kong but were not
good enough for me to pick and choose any course I wanted. In
the end it was two things that got me into law. The first was
someone telling me that it was a new faculty and therefore easy to
get into and the second was someone else saying that disliking the
study of law was not a good reason for not applying as I would
learn to like it in time.To make a long story short, I was accepted to
study law. It subsequently transpired that the Faculty accepted
only one out of every nine applicants and
competition was keen. I did not have the faintest
idea why I was picked. I was not motivated to
study law because I had not understood what its
significance was. This lack of interest was
compounded by the fact that law was taught in
compartments as tort, contract, evidence, taxation,
public administration, constitutional law etc. Real
life is not at all like that. Neither client nor
judge would tell you what your reading list
should be for the week or that you would be
examined on one single compartment of law.
I was acquiring knowledge and that process was
tedious for me without looking at the less clear cut,
more risky end of application.
I muddled my way through and I graduated. The
highlights for me during my years at the University
were walking up to the Peak with my fellow
classmates on crisp autumn days, going down to a side street in
Western for a bowl of congee in the middle of the night, arguing
with each other over just about anything, criticizing our teachers,
watching someone doze off, head bouncing and drooling in class
and finally graduating and getting the alumni medal. I did enjoy the
moot trials and the tutorials where my mind was allowed more
freedom.
Perhaps it was because that I did not actively choose to go into
law that I was anxious to get out of it after my first degree. I wanted
to experience the world and I applied for a UN job. What saved me
was that the UN actually responded to me, saying that because I
did not have a second degree or any working experience, it had no
job for me. It was at that point that I decided to continue my legal
studies and to complete my PCLL and training. I realized I would
go nowhere if I did not finish it.
It was during my time as a trainee in a solicitor’s firm that I became
more interested in law. Thinking back it was really a scary
experience. My client’s fortune and life were in my hands and it
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SPECIAL FEATURE
FACULTY NEWS
was my responsibility to make sure that no disaster befell my client.
One of the options that had always been in the cards was to have
It was the realization that I must take responsibility for someone
government take over the private member’s bill or to make a
else that made me think clearer and try harder.
counter offer with its own draft legislation. Government did present
its own draft legislation, which is why today we have anti-
I had enough sense to know that I must ask the right questions,
discrimination laws and the Equal Opportunities Commission.
find out the facts, work out the legal issues, assess and evaluate
the situation and determine the options. I learned along the way
One lesson I learned from the exercise was that we must seize the
how to use the law to solve a problem, resolve a conflict or create
opportunity when it arises and run with it. There was no guarantee
a solution. I spent a lot of my time negotiating on behalf of clients,
and no certainty of outcome about the process. This is the nature
whether it was an out of
of public policy. It is dependent on people, circumstances and
court settlement or a
strategy and it is always very fluid. As it turned out, that window of
transaction that needed to
initiating a private member’s bill in a public policy area without
be put together.
needing the consent of the executive branch closed in 1997.
Law to me is the product
of human frailties,
fallibilities and friction.
Eventually, I left my private practice completely. It was no longer
satisfying to me. I felt that I was not learning or doing new things. I
had done many transactions, advised many clients on infringement
Presenting the Anna Wu Prize in Human Rights to an award-winning
student (Robyn Emerton, who is now teaching at the Faculty), 2001.
The 5 recipients of the UTF 2003-04.
Law provides a platform
for coexistence and
resolution of disputes. It
recognizes diversity and
differences. Recognizing
that we are miles apart is
not enough, we must create and use the law as a platform for
engagement and to resolve a conflict or dispute, solve a problem or
create a solution. The court becomes the final arbiter of differences
only when engagement fails.
In any given situation, whether we are trying to strike a deal,
resolve a community conflict or face a highly sensitive political
situation, we look for ways to defuse the volatility, reduce the
polarization and increase the engagement. We look for options to
resolve the differences and to create solutions. This process calls
into play all our skills for negotiation and for dispute resolution. And
I came to value above all law as a process and a tool for
engagement.
A fundamental social purpose that law must serve is to
provide a framework to achieve equality. While in private
practice I never felt that I needed to be fair to my opponents, but in
public life it was all about the equitable distribution of rights,
opportunities and the benefits of development. We assign a
substantive value to public interest laws.
I became a legislator at the end of 1992. It was a welcome
break from private practice and a chance to put my skills to use in
a different way. By definition legislators legislate and I chose to
launch a private member’s bill on equal opportunities. To use a
private member’s bill to introduce a whole new area of policy was
not done before. My detractors thought I was just pulling a stunt
and creating a lot of problems for them. I was dead earnest. Telling
people that I would be leaving the Legislative Council after my term
expired helped. It was clear that I was not looking for future votes.
matters and even litigated in a few esoteric areas of law. The offer
to be the Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission
came along and I took it because I wanted to test how the
law that I helped to bring about could be made to work on
the ground.
The core function of the EOC is complaints handling and this
involves dispute resolution and requires trained skills in mediation
and conciliation. In many cases I have witnessed ingenious
solutions being crafted but in others I have seen cultural
differences becoming obstacles.
The giving of an apology is a very good example. In the Asian
context, requesting a male superior to apologize to a female
subordinate in a sexual harassment complaint was sometimes
impossible. To require a government authority to provide an
apology to someone would be out of the question; but to ask for
an acknowledgement that the complainant felt aggrieved by an
Anna (second from right) with Professor Mushkat, Professor Pru Goward
and Carole Peterson, at the public lecture on “The Right to Equal
Opportunity: Lessons from Australia”, 2003.
official’s action and that the government would take steps to
improve its procedure (not rectify a mistake) might not be as
impossible. Similarly the Americans resisted for a long time a
request by the Chinese government for an apology for the collision
between two aircraft near Hainan Island, which resulted in the loss
of a Chinese pilot, until finally the American ambassador wrote a
letter saying he was “very, very sorry.” Only after this letter was
written was the American crew allowed to go home.
It is my working experience as a lawyer in the private and public
sectors that led me to focus on a number of issues:
• how to negotiate,
• how to resolve disputes, and
• how to detect cultural differences and learn to deal with them
It is this focus that got me into developing education programs for
negotiation skills training and dispute resolution for use on
mainland China through Shantou University in Guangdong. The
university is supported by the Li Ka Shing Foundation and
Citigroup has provided a sponsorship of four years to develop a
training module for use on the mainland.
Negotiation and the tools for dispute resolution are important for
both emerging economies as well as developed economies. Many
developed cities have now found it too expensive and
unsatisfactory to go into the court rooms and we need alternative
and pluralistic forms of dispute resolution.
Law is a living thing and needs to remain alive. It is never
static and our professional life should also not be static. Those of
us who are combating boredom need to get out of the routine, to
pursue new challenges and to acquire a different perspective in life.
I think it is important for each of us to do something
different, to do something that matters and to sometimes be
bold and make law what we want it to be.
University Teaching
Fellowship Awards
2003-04
Congratulations to Rick Glofcheski and
Katherine Lynch, both of the
Department of Law, on their receiving
the University Teaching Fellowships
2003-04. The Fellowships are awarded
to acknowledge the outstanding
contributions that members of the HKU
teaching staff make towards teaching
within the University. This year only 5
awards were made. Of the total of 34
Fellowships awarded since the start of
the award in 1996, the Faculty has the
honor of having 6 University Teaching
Fellows in its team. They are Rick
Glofcheski, Lusina Ho, Alice Lee,
Katherine Lynch, Dr. Kevin Pun and
Benny Tai. In this issue, we invited
Katherine and Rick to share with us
what they regard as good teaching and
learning at the university.
10
11

FACULTY NEWS
UNIVERSITY TEACHING FELLOWSHIP AWARDS 2003-04
Katherine Lynch
(Year of joining the Faculty: 1991; Specialization: Arbitration, Dispute Resolution, Business Association and Company Law)
Katherine receiving the award from
the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tsui
Lap Chee.
This year I have been the fortunate recipient of a University Teaching Fellowship Award from the
University of Hong Kong recognizing my teaching efforts in the Faculty of Law. Receipt of this UTF
award has served to renew my enthusiastic commitment to the teaching of our talented HKU students
and to striving for excellence in both my teaching and research related activities with the HKU Law
Faculty. My teaching experience at HKU has confirmed that if appropriately motivated and supported,
our law students have the potential to compete with the best graduates from around the world. As such,
I believe it is important to adopt an active student centered approach to teaching and learning,
emphasizing the development of core legal analytical skills, active and critical reading skills, and research
and language skills, as well as learning substantive legal knowledge.
Such a problem-based learning approach differs
from the traditional approach of passive
memorization and regurgitation of legal information.
Law students should be required to analyze a given problem, identify the relevant legal
issues, apply relevant legal principles to the issues and through reasoned analysis
reach some form of conclusion. While such analysis applies legal principles discerned
from interpreting cases and statutory provisions, students should also be encouraged
to discuss economic, historical, social and political policy considerations in their
analysis of problems and challenged to think for themselves and express their own
viewpoints on issues. Innovations in teaching methodology and curriculum design will
further enhance this problem-based inter-disciplinary approach to teaching and
learning at HKU. This in combination with giving close attention and immediate
feedback to students, will help ensure that HKU students achieve their extraordinary
potential and succeed in the international marketplace.
Rick Glofcheski
(Year of joining the Faculty: 1989; Specialization: Tort Law, Labour Law)
Katherine received warm congratulations after the
presentation ceremony.
Good teaching has always been valued in the Faculty of Law, as far back as I can remember. The Faculty of Law has a long history of
teaching seminars and workshops, and has always been supportive of teaching innovations. I recall how, in 1990, the Faculty of Law
was the first in the University to introduce student evaluation of teachers, and what’s more (and to the horror of colleagues in other faculties),
to make the results of those evaluations available to students. Since then the entire University has followed suit.
In the Faculty of Law, good teaching is valued both by colleagues, and by students, who
bring high standards to their learning, and who come with high expectations of their teachers.
The award has given me cause to reflect on the characteristics of good teaching.
A good teacher is one who by virtue of his enthusiasm for the subject, can inspire and
motivate students. A good teacher is one who genuinely has fun in his teaching. A good teacher
will acquire an understanding of his students and their backgrounds, so that students do not feel
like mere numbers, but as individuals whose characteristics are known and appreciated by the
teacher and by classmates. A good teacher will be up-to-date in the subject matter, including
events in the community that impact on that subject matter, thereby ensuring relevance. A good
Rick receiving the award from the
Vice-Chancellor.
12
Rick always stays for a discussion with students after class.
teacher will be reflective, keeping under review the success or failure of his teaching techniques
and the student response to them. A good teacher will, in his teaching, project the values and
important human qualities that are required for a sense of
professionalism and humanity to be conveyed to the students. The
promotion of these values requires an atmosphere of equality and
democracy in the classroom, which should be a forum in which all can
participate, and in which the views of all are treated with respect and on
a footing of equality.
The teaching fellowship demonstrates the value placed by the
university on good teaching. I was impressed that the teaching awards
were presented together with the outstanding research awards, a
gesture that is more than symbolic and places the importance of
teaching on an equal footing with that of research. The award of the
teaching fellowship has caused me to reflect further on my teaching, to
make a continuing contribution to the teaching and learning enterprise
in the Faculty and the University, in order to do justice to the recognition
that has been conferred. I would like to dedicate the award to all of my
students, past and present.
Introducing a new Part-time
Postgraduate Certificate
in Laws (PCLL) Programme
Professor Michael Wilkinson
I am delighted to report that the
Department of Professional
Legal Education will launch a
new part-time PCLL programme
as from September 2005. For
some time the Law Society had
been encouraging us to provide
the PCLL in part-time mode
in addition to the full-time
programme, but we had been
reluctant to introduce the parttime
course until the PCLL
curriculum reforms had been
largely put in place. Now that
these reforms have been
substantially, and successfully,
implemented, we felt it was time to comply. A committee most ably
chaired by Richard Wu, comprising Felix Chan, Jessica Young,
Norman Hui, Julienne Jen and Stephane Hui Bon Hoa set down to
draw up plans for implementation.
The new part-time PCLL, which will run over 2 years, is
based upon four fundamental principles. First, the high
standards required for admission to the full-time PCLL will apply
equally to admission to the part-time PCLL. Applicants should
ensure that, in addition to the required academic qualifications,
they have passed the IELTS test with a minimum score of 7.
Secondly, the part-time curriculum will be the same as the full-time
course save that the part-time course will extend over two
academic years. This means that the first year of the part-time
course will be devoted to contentious subjects – Advocacy, Civil
and Criminal Procedure and Professional Conduct (contentious
issues) and the second year will cover non-contentious subjects –
Conveyancing and Probate Practice, Commercial Law and
Practice, Accounts and Financial Management and Professional
Conduct (non-contentious issues). The third principle is that
teaching standards on both courses will be consistently high. All
lectures on both courses will be delivered by the same full-time
staff members and tutorials for both the part-time and full-time
courses will be conducted by a mix of full-time staff and specialist
practitioners. Finally, a common examination standard will be
applied so that the exit standards of the part-time course will be
just as high as for the full-time course.
Lectures and tutorials will largely be conducted from
6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on two to three weekdays
each week with some classes held on Saturdays.
All classes (save for advocacy examinations) will be
conducted on campus, but a coach service will
be available at nominal cost to transfer
students from Admiralty and Central to the
HKU Campus for classes. Naturally,
Members of the Department of PLE (from left): Richard Wu, Wilson Chow,
Professor Wilkinson, Dr. Felix Chan and Stephane Hui Bon Hoa.
students will be encouraged to make full use of our library and
other facilities.
Information about the part-time course was first made public at
an open forum in mid-January. To our pleasant surprise, more than
250 people attended and asked many incisive questions.
Information about the part-time course is now available on the
PCLL website – www.pcll.hk and application for admission
should be made as soon as possible but not later than 30 April
2005. The fees for the part-time course will be $55,000 per year.
I am very happy with this long-awaited development and feel
confident that the course will be well-received by those admitted
as students and the profession.
13

14
FACULTY NEWS
The Faculty welcomes the following
new teachers on board:
Henry Gao
LLB (China), LLM (UCL), JD with Certificate in Law and Business
(Vanderbilt)
Henry joined the Department of Law in
January 2005 as Assistant Professor.
Henry got his LLB from China Youth
Politics Institute, his LLM from University
College London and his JD from
Vanderbilt University. After that, Henry
went to work in Geneva as the first
Chinese lawyer at the WTO Secretariat.
In August 2003, Henry came to Hong
Kong to teach at the law school of
CityU. His main areas of research are WTO, international trade law,
corporate law and law and economics; and he is the author of
several articles on these issues.
Norman Hui
BA (Toronto), PCLL (HKU)
Norman joined the Department of the
Professional Legal Education in
August 2004 as a teaching consultant.
He teaches Civil Advocacy, Civil
Procedure, Professional Practice,
Conveyancing (Litigation Stream),
Probate (Litigation Stream) and
coordinates the Litigation Stream.
Norman received his education in
Canada save for his legal studies which
were in Hong Kong. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1996
and continues to practise in the areas of intellectual property,
personal injuries and general comercial litigation.
I-Ping Soong
Father Roderick O’Brien (right)
with Richard Wu
Julienne Jen
LLB(London), PCLL (HKU)
Julienne joined the Department of Professional Legal Education as
Teaching Consultant in September 2004. Julienne teaches Civil and
Criminal Procedure, Civil Advocacy, the Litigation Stream for the
Commercial Law and Practice course and Professional Practice.
Julienne graduated from King’s College,
University of London with an LLB in 1995 and
then took the PCLL course at the University
of Hong Kong. She qualified as a solicitor in
Hong Kong in 1998 and later, was also
admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.
After her qualification, Julienne stayed with
Richards Butler and practiced as a litigation
solicitor. Her main areas of work included
professional liability litigation and general
commercial litigation.
Kelvin Low
LLB (NUS), BCL (Oxon)
Kelvin joined the Department of Law in January 2005 as Assistant
Professor. Kelvin graduated from the National University of
Singapore in 1999 and practiced shortly after getting called to the
Bar in Singapore. He read the BCL at Brasenose College, Oxford
in 2001 and joined his alma mater immediately thereafter in 2002,
where he taught Principles of
Property Law, Equity & Trusts and
Principles of Restitution. He has
always been interested in academia,
publishing extensively even as a
student. He now teaches Equity &
Trusts and Introduction to Private
International Law, but his interest
also extends to Restitution and
Contract.
MA (Oxon)
I-Ping joined the Department of Law in September 2004 as a Senior Teaching Assistant.
She received her secondary education in Singapore before reading Jurisprudence at Exeter
College, Oxford. After graduation, she studied for her PLC at the College of Law in London.
Upon qualification, she moved to Hong Kong as an assistant solicitor with Slaughter and
May, practicing in general commercial practise. She then became an associate with the
International Capital Markets Department in Allen & Overy in Hong Kong. She is a solicitor
of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a Solicitor of the High Court of Hong
Kong.
The other two new teachers are Ms. Athena Cheung and Mr. Paul Westover, both of the Department of Law.
New Faces
Meet our old friend ! Meet our old friend ! Meet our old friend !
Father Roderick O’Brien
Father Roderick O’Brien visited the Faculty on 7th October 2004.
Father O’Brien was a graduate of the University of Hong Kong with
an MA in 1976. He taught in the Department of Law from 1974 to
1977. He is now a law lecturer of the Xi Bei Politics & Law Institute
situated in Xi An, PRC.
The Hochelaga Lectures this year were given by Professor James Crawford, Whewell Professor
of International Law at the University of Cambridge. The topic is “Rights in One Country: China
and Hong Kong”.
35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Public Lectures, Conferences, Seminars and Events held in
the first semester 2004-05
HOCHELAGA LECTURES 2004 25 & 28 October 2004
Chairpersons at the two lectures were The Hon.
Dr. Anson Chan, GBM, GCMG, CEB, JP (right
in the above) and Ms. Christine Loh, Founder
and CEO of Civic Exchange (below).
(from left) Frank Ching, Anna Wu, The Hon. Dr.
David Li and Christine Loh at the lecture.
SEMINAR BY PROFESSOR HAZEL GENN
An Overview of the Impact of the Woolf’s Reform and the Legal Aid Reform in the UK -
30 November 2004
The seminar attracted a large
audience. Professor Genn is the
Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at
the Faculty of Laws, University
College London.
REGIONAL DIALOGUE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
8-10 November 2004
The event was convened jointly by the International Centre for
Trade and Sustainable Development, the UNCTAD, the
International Development Research Centre and the
University of Hong Kong. It was organized as an informal
process bringing together about 25 relevant stakeholders
with a variety of interests and experiences (Geneva-based
negotiators, capital-based policy makers, academia, the
private sector and NGOs). The dialogue aimed to provide a
platform for strategic discussion
between these stakeholders on
relevant trends in the area of IP and their
implications for sustainable development
and also to analyse current trends in IP
standard-setting in the East and South
East Asian region.
15

CENTRE FOR COMPARATIVE AND PUBLIC LAW EVENTS — HONG KONG’S NEW POLITICS: A POST-ELECTION ANALYSIS
PART 4 OF THE CONFERENCE SERIES ON “CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT: THE WAY FORWARD
18 September 2004 Organized jointly with the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences.
PCLL OPENING CEREMONY 6 September 2004
Address by Mr. Michael
Lintern-Smith, President
of the Law Society of
Hong Kong.
LLB OPENING CEREMONY FOR
THE 2004-05 ACADEMIC YEAR
8 September 2004
Mr. Allen Lee, Public
Affairs Commentator.
Dr. Ma Ngok of HKUST.
Dr. Robert Chung, Director of Public
Opinion Programmes, HKU.
(first from left) Professor Kuan Hsin Chi of
CU and (third from left) Professor Wang
Zhenmin of Tsinghua University were also
at the conference.
The Dean gave a welcome speech to the PCLL students and
guests at Hui Pun Hing Theatre, Library Extension Building.
The speech was given by Ms. Anna Wu,
SBS, JP, Chairperson of the Academic Board
for the PCLL and Adviser to the Law
School, Shantou University.
ARCHBOLD HONG KONG CRIMINAL
LAW CONFERENCE 2004
13 November 2004
SEMINAR & WORKSHOP ON LEGISLATING AGAINST RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION: RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNMENT’S
CONSULTATION DOCUMENT
Organized jointly with Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. - 22 January 2005
The Conference was a one-day event with Lord
Justice Robin Auld of the English Court of Appeal
and Mr. Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court
of Canada as its keynote speakers.
Address by Mr. Edward Chan
SC, then Chairman of the
Hong Kong Bar Association.
HKU JUPAS OPEN DAY 2004
16, 17 October 2004
Members of the Department of Professional Legal Education with
the prize winners.
The students and guests were also
addressed by Mr. Kenneth Kwok
SC, President of the HKU Law
Alumni Association.
(from left) Simon Young of the Faculty, Mr. Justice
Michael Lunn and Mr. Grenville Cross SC, Director of
Public Prosecutions of the Department of Justice.
The panel speakers included
Ms. Carole Peterson, Professor Yash
Ghai (Sir Y K Pao Chair in Public
Law), Ms. Jill Cottrell, Ms. Anna Wu
and also Mr. Mark Daly.
CONFERENCE ON SENTENCING PRACTICES IN GREATER CHINA 29 January 2005
Law students answering enquires and manning the exhibition booths set up in the G/F Concourse of K K
Leung Building.
Three Defendants set fire in a shop in Central at noon, resulting in one death and one
seriously injured. They were charged with manslaughter and assault causing GBH.
One of them was aged 16. Two pleaded guilty and one was convicted after trial.
They were respectively sentenced before a court in Hong Kong, Mainland, Taiwan
and Macau. The 4 mock trials
at our Sentencing Practices
in Greater China Conference
produced very interesting and
different sentences and led to a
lively discussion on the differences
in approach and values underlying
the 4 jurisdictions!
Representatives of prize donors presenting
award certificates to prize-winning law
students.
16
Michael Jackson, Admissions Tutor of the Department of Law, was giving an admission talk to the
audience in a fully-packed lecture theatre.
17

FACULTY NEWS
A new Lecture Series for the Profession and the Public
Upcoming Events
The Faculty of Law proudly announces the Common Law
Lecture Series. Hong Kong is in a unique position as the only
common law jurisdiction in civil law China. In presenting the
Lecture Series, the Faculty hopes to contribute to the learning and
development of the common law.
The annual Lecture Series will be presented by distinguished
jurists from Hong Kong and around the common law world. Each
speaker will deliver a public lecture relating to the common law, and
the lectures will be published annually. All lectures are free and open
to the public.
The lecture schedule for 2005 is as follows:
15 March 2005
The Hon. Sir Anthony Mason, A.C., K.B.E.
Non-permanent Judge, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong
Title: The Role of the Common Law in Hong Kong
(Inaugural Lecture)
20 May 2005
The Hon. Mr. Justice Robert Ribeiro
Permanent Judge, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong
Title: Vexatious Litigants
Nov 2005
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Millett
Lord of Appeal, House of Lords
Non-permanent Judge, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong
For further details and registration, please visit the following
website: www.hku.hk/law/clls
We sincerely welcome all alumni and friends of the
Faculty to join us at the lectures. See you all then.
Date Event Venue
2005 March 15 Inaugural Lecture of The Common Law Lecture Series Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU
by The Hon Sir Anthony Mason, NPJ, Court of Final Appeal,
HKSARG, on “The Role of the Common Law in Hong Kong”
19 International Conference on Professional Ethics (Hong Kong) Library Extension One, HKU
21 International Conference on Professional Ethics (Beijing) Beijing, China
2005 April 11 Peter Allan Memorial Lecture by The Hon Chief Justice Wang Gungwu Lecture Hall,
Dr Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court of Israel, HKU
on “The Role of a Supreme Court in a Democracy and
the Fight Against Terrorism”
18 April - 8 July WTO Regional Trade Policy Course The University of Hong Kong
22 Law Lectures for Practitioners Hotel Conrad
2005 May 6 Launch of the “CLIC” website Council Chamber, HKU
20 The Common Law Lecture Series by The Hon Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU
Mr. Justice Ribeiro, PJ, Court of Final Appeal, HKSARG,
on “Vexatious Litigants”
Please check out on further details at the faculty’s website: www. hku.hk/law/ under “What’s New – Seminars and Public Lectures”.
A NEW PROJECT —
Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC) Website:
the public is to have greater access to legal
information and legal services
We are pleased to announce that the China Information
Technology & Law Centre (a centre established jointly by the
Faculty of Law and the Department of Computer Science of HKU)
is undertaking a 3-year project under which it is to develop, host
and maintain the Community Legal Information Centre Website
( ). The project is funded by the Department of Justice and
represents one of the Government’s efforts in enabling the general
public to have greater access to legal information and legal
services on-line. The website will be maintained as an adjunct to
the Hong Kong Legal Information Institute (HKLII) launched in
January 2002. The project commenced in April 2004 and the
website is due to be officially launched on 6 May 2005. The
bilingual website aims at providing the public with free information
on areas of law that have the most direct bearing on their daily
lives. The areas of law to be covered will include among other
topics, employment, family matters, landlord and tenant,
bankruptcy, consumer protection, immigration, personal injury and
legal aid. To ensure a smooth operation of the website upon its
launch, a workshop will be held in March 2005. Please watch out
for details of the launch of the “CLIC website” at the faculty’s
website nearer the date.
18

ALUMNI COLUMN
News from The HKU Law Alumni Association
The New Executive Committee (2004-05)
The Law Alumni Association held its
Annual General Meeting for the year
2004 on 16 December 2004. A new
Executive Committee was duly elected.
Kenneth Kwok SC (LLB 1972),
Francoise Lam (LLB 1986)
and Cleresa Wong (LLB 1980)
continue to show their support to the
Association in the most practical way:
they hold their respective offices as
the President, Honorary Secretary and
Honorary Treasurer for the second
term. 4 new members came on board
though. They are Carmelo Lee (LLB
1982), Cissy Leung (LLB 1988),
Elaine Liu (LLB 1987) and Felicity
Wong (LLB 1999). The other
Executive Committee members are
Augusto da Roza, Bonnie Chan,
Denise Chan, Mr. Justice Chan, PJ
and Richard Wu. It is indeed
gratifying to see alumni of different
seniority willing to assist with the
work of the Association and the
Faculty notwithstanding their busy
practice and family commitments.
The following is a brief report by the
President of the LAA:
“The work of the HKU Law Alumni
Association is vital to the development and
maintenance of the Law Faculty as a
Centre of Excellence” (Mr. Peter Rhodes,
Dean, 1987-1993).
In the letter dated 7 February 2004,
the Executive Committee of the Hong
Kong University Law Alumni Association
made the points that, as graduates, we
could all play a part to improve legal
education and increase public confidence
in the legal profession and education and
that we could also help by providing
financial support.
The Law Alumni Association has
excellent rapport with the Faculty. The
Dean attended two Executive Committee
meetings on invitation and briefed us on
the latest developments and activities of
the Faculty. The Faculty co-opted our
nominee, Mr. Augusto da Roza (LLB
1973, PCLL 1974), as a member of the
Faculty Board.
In celebrating the 35th anniversary
of the Faculty, we helped the Faculty
in hosting the Homecoming on 6
November 2004. We also organized the
Re-union Dinner which was held on 4
December 2004 and produced the 35th
anniversary publication, “Building for
Tomorrow on Yesterday’s Strength”.
The number of alumni association
members has more than doubled in 2004.
The Alumni Association has now
completed the formalities in establishing
our own charitable institution, the “HKU
Law Alumni Charity Limited”. The
Charity company is exempt from tax
under section 88 of the Inland Revenue
Ordinance, Cap. 112, and more importantly,
a donation of money to the HKU Law
Alumni Charity Limited for charitable
purposes is an approved charitable
donation under the Ordinance.
Ms. Wendy Chan (LLB 1987 PCLL
1988 LLM (CFL) 2001), Ms. Yeda Hong
(LLB 1999 PCLL 2000), Ms. Rebecca
Lee (LLB 2001 PCLL 2003) and Mr.
Joseph Tse (LLB 1982 PCLL 1983)
retired as members of the Executive
Committee in December last year, Wendy
having served three terms, and Yeda and
Joseph two. They took an active part in
the deliberation and decision making
process of the Executive Committee and
the sub-committees, and worked very
hard behind the scenes in the anniversary
activities.
Johannes joins me in thanking all
members of the Executive Committee, all
members of all sub-committees and many
many more who helped behind the scene
for their dedicated support and help.
Kenneth Kwok SC
(LLB 1972, PCLL 1973)
President, Hong Kong University Law
Alumni Association
Website: www.hku.hk/law/alumni
Email: llalumni@hkucc.hku.hk
Two of the new
Executive committee
members: Felicity
Wong (right) and
Carmelo Lee (below)
Denise Chan
(LLB 1990).
Joseph Tse had
served the ExCo
for two years and
chaired the 35th
Anniversary
Reunion Dinner
Organizing
Sub-Committee
in 2004.
Sincerely From an Outgoing ExCo Member
I have been kindly asked to write a
few lines as an outgoing member of
the HKU Law Alumni Association
Executive Committee. I joined the
Executive Committee first as its
co-opted member, became its regular
member a few months later in around
November 2002 and have since had the
privilege to hold the post until my recent
retirement in December 2004.
It is my great pleasure and honour to
have served on the Executive Committee
working with a conscientious and efficient
team consisting mostly of my seniors in
the profession; a team with one goal in the
heart of each member – to give back to
the Law Faculty and to better the Alumni
Association.
Yeda Hong and Wendy Chan (second and third
from left in the back row) at a dinner gathering
with other members of the Executive Committee
and its Sub-Committees in December 2004.
Wendy Chan
(LLB 1987, PCLL 1988)
Since graduation from the Law Faculty, life
has taken us down different ways and
paths. Some stay in the profession, some
have gone in-house, some retire, some
have embarked on another career… and,
among us, some may prefer concentrating
on what they are presently doing because
of their busy schedule which is fully
understandable.
I would humbly like to let you know
that your Executive Committee really has
Message from the Convener of the Membership
Drive Sub-Committee
Patrick Chan (LLB 1974, PCLL 1975)
When you have a break in your busy
schedules, have you ever paused to think
of the more leisurely and happier times
with your classmates in the law school?
Did it ever occur to you to meet those
classmates you have not seen for a long
time and to share with them what had
happened to you since you last met? You
must have come across barristers,
solicitors, pupils and trainee solicitors in
your work, either in court or in conference
or on the phone, who are graduates of the
Faculty of Law. Do you like to meet them
in more amicable circumstances?
There is a good way of getting in touch
with those you have already known –
former classmates and friends and getting
to know those you have yet to know –
graduates of the University who have left
before you and who have come after you.
That is to become a member of the Hong
Kong University Law Alumni Association.
By doing so, you will be able
to get in touch with them
easily through the Association’s
correspondence, website and
other regular publications and
to participate in its activities.
Through these communications
and functions, you will get
to know more about what is
happening to the University, the
legal profession and many of your
engaged in long meetings and plentiful
email correspondence to organize alumni
functions to achieve an encouraging year
of 2004. To my teammates and Executive
Committee President, I thank you for being
part of my experience that I cherish and to
the current Executive Committee, I wish
you continued success.
The efforts of some twelve Executive
Committee members are not enough
though. The Alumni Association belongs to
each law graduate and it needs you.
Please do come and join us.
former classmates, seniors and juniors.
And through taking part in its activities,
you can catch up with former classmates
and friends about whom you do not have
the opportunity of getting to know more
and you can also get to know new alumni.
But the most important and worthwhile
purpose of joining the Association is to
show your support to fellow students and
graduates of the Faculty of Law to which
we are all indebted for providing us with
necessary training to enter the legal
profession.
This year, the Faculty of Law is
celebrating is 35th anniversary. Some of
you might have already participated in the
Homecoming held on 6 November 2004
and shared the fun with us. Others might
have come for the Reunion Dinner on 4
December 2004 and met old friends and
former teachers. Some of you are already
members of the Association but others
have still not joined. If you wish to know
more about the Association and how you
can join our family, please feel free to visit
our website at www.hku.hk/law/alumni.
The Dean joined the new Exco at one of their monthly meetings.
(Back row from left): Augusto da Roza, Bonnie Chan, Richard
Wu, Elaine Liu, Cissy Leung and Cleresa Wong.
(Front row from left): The Hon. Mr. Justice Chan, PJ, Kenneth
Kwok SC, the Dean and Francoise Lam.
The Hon Mr. Justice Chan PJ (first from right).
20
21

ALUMNI COLUMN
One country, two homes – life and
career of a Hong Kong lawyer in Beijing
Janet Hui (LLB 1987, PCLL 1988) made
a radical change in her career and life
by “immigrating” to Beijing in August
2004. Instead of leading an expatriate
life, she chose to live in Beijing like a
local Chinese and work in a local law
firm. In this article, Janet shares with
us her experience and reflections on life
and career in Beijing as a newcomer
from Hong Kong…
It is now over six months since I and my
kids (a boy of 9 years old and a girl of 6
years old) “immigrated” to Beijing in last
August to join my husband, who has lived
in Beijing for more than five years. I felt a
bit nervous and scary before I moved to
Beijing. I was not certain whether I could
adapt to life in China, especially as I
wished to live like a local and not an
expatriate.
My first few weeks in Beijing were not
at all pleasant. I caught a cold shortly after
my arrival in the city as a result of the
sharp temperature difference between day
and night. It was also a frustrating
A photo taken at a local
dog market as my kids
are keen to buy a dog as
their pet. Of course, we
rejected this idea as it
is not easy to keep a dog
at home.
A photo taken with my
family members and
friends from Hong Kong
in December 2004.
Janet Hui (LLB 1987, PCLL 1988)
experience to purchase the furniture and
electrical appliances for my new home.
Beijing is very big and the shops scatter
around different parts of the city. There are
very few shopping malls and they are of
smaller scale.
There is so much for me to learn as an
‘immigrant’ from Hong Kong. I have to pay
for an electricity card through depositing
money at banks before my family can use
electricity at home. I have to go to the
bank to pay for our phone bills. Mobile and
IDD calls are still expensive in comparison
to prices in Hong Kong. There are few
Hong Kong style restaurants around
though there are lots of Starbucks,
McDonalds and KFC around. There is no
Hong Kong newspaper or magazine
available in Beijing (except Ming Pao Daily
which costs RMB 20 a day). The public
transportation system is underdeveloped
and the traffic congestion problem is very
serious in Beijing.
My kids had a lot of complaints about
Beijing in the first three months: They
complained that there was no big toy shop
and most of the toy models were
outdated. They complained about the
meals as they were not accustomed to
local food. They also complained about
the school life here. As they studied in
local school and not international school,
they did not understand what the teachers
and classmates said in class and felt
frustrated. They could not read simplified
Chinese characters and had to learn them
from scratch. They missed Hong Kong so
much that they wept nearly every day in
the first few months of arrival.
After about five months, however, my
kids feel much happier and appreciate the
‘brighter’ side of Beijing. They enjoy skiing
in winter and play sports like golf,
swimming, soccer, badminton, and roller
skating in summer. They do less
homework than they did in Hong Kong.
They have some new friends and start to
exchange game cards or stationeries with
each another. The most important
attraction is, however, a better family life in
Beijing, with both dad and mum around to
play with them. While my kids still miss
Hong Kong from time to time, they start to
enjoying life in Beijing.
How about my life and work in Beijing?
Well, I am luckier than my kids. I work for a
local law firm, and not a foreign or Hong
Kong law firm. My law firm is rather
‘westernized’ as most of the partners and
lawyers have studied or worked overseas.
There are more than 45 partners and 190
lawyers (including partners) working for the
firm. Most of the partners and lawyers in
the firm are friendly, open-minded and
hard-working. The workload here is very
heavy and not as leisure as most Hong
Kong practitioners may envisage. There is
a great variety of legal works here, ranging
from foreign direct investment, merger and
acquisition transactions, entertainment,
properties, intellectual properties, litigation,
to securities, banking and anti-dumping
practices. The legal works are very
challenging and interesting to me.
My law firm also offers “free lunch” to
its staff. This is inconceivable to some
Hong Kong lawyers. There is a big
canteen inside the building where our law
firm is located offering three meals daily.
The breakfast is marvelous, with milk, soya
milk and yogurt and different kinds of
bread offered at a very low price. The
lunch is offered free-of-charge and serves
six courses of dishes, six courses of salad
with four salad dressing, fruit, rice, bread
and soups. Free dinner and transportation
are also provided if I have to work overtime
after 8pm during weekdays. The law firm
also provides a small “wardrobe” so that I
only need to change to my ‘formal’
clothing after returning to office every
morning.
The legal practice for Chinese laws is
very different from that in Hong Kong.
There are lots of uncertainties when we
give legal advice to clients wishing to do
business here. The laws and policies
develop quickly and a lot of conflicts arise
between the laws and policies issued by
the state and local governmental
authorities. As there is no precedent
system in China, each judge is entitled to
have his or her own view and it is hard to
predict the outcome of litigation. Whenever
the laws and policies contain ‘unclear’
procedures, my colleagues have to call up
local governmental authorities for
consultation from time to time. The
outcomes of such consultations are
difficult to predict, as different local
governmental authorities have different
practices and inconsistencies are virtually
unavoidable. Nevertheless, the laws and
policies have improved substantially if we
compare them with those laws and
policies adopted several years ago. The
laws and policies will definitely improve
gradually, making the works of lawyers
easier in future.
In Memory of Annabella Wong Alice Choy (LLB 1986, PCLL 1987)
Alice Choy (LLB 1986, PCLL 1987), shares with us the
memory of her good friend and classmate Annabella Wong
(LLB 1986, PCLL 1987), who passed away in September 2004.
Annabella is well known to many of our alumni graduating
in the mid-80s.
I would never have expected that the latest gathering for my old
classmates and friends in the university was the funeral of
Annabella, who passed away in September 2004 at the golden
age of 39. More than one third of the LLB classmates in my year
and others who worked closely with Annabella during her
lifetime attended the funeral, paying their last tribute and
farewell to her.
Annabella had been suffering from liver cancer for some
years. During her treatment period, she demonstrated her
enthusiasm for life. She endured the pain of the treatment and
never lost hope in her recovery. She once told me that while she
was receiving treatment in the hospital and hearing a 70-yearold
lady complaining how the pain of cancer tortured her,
Annabella replied that she hoped to live as old as 70 years and
The photo was taken in Beijing during the study tour organized by the
HKU Student Union to Beijing in our first summer vacation in 1984.
First row: In the middle, in yellow T-shirt and white skirt, Annabella Wong;
next to her, in red T-shirt and white skit, me. Second from the right, Benny
Tai. All of LLB 1986.
I enjoy living and working in Beijing
though I miss my other family members
and my friends in Hong Kong. However,
the world is becoming much smaller now
and I have friends coming to Beijing
frequently, either for business or leisure.
Given the closer relationship between
Hong Kong and Beijing in future, a ‘Hong
Kong immigrant’ like me should not feel
alone in Beijing, if he or she has the
determination to adapt to the local
environment and is more appreciative of
the ‘good’ side of living here. Both Hong
Kong and Beijing are my homes now. It is
a blessing to live in these two cities and
both of them give me this feeling of
“Home. Sweet Home”.
This photo was taken
at an outing activity
organized by my firm
in last September. The
law firm offers at least
one free of charge
outing activity for all
staff each year.
would not mind having to endure all those physical suffering.
Annabella has endured a lot, but she did not live long.
Annabella always had a clear vision ever since I knew her in
our LLB first year. She joined the “Society of China Study (
)” with a keen interest to know more about the Mainland.
She participated in many exchange visits to the Mainland and
studied a lot about China in her university days. We joined a
study tour of the Student Union to Beijing and the eastern part
of the Mainland during our first year summer vacation. That was
our first visit to Beijing. We took great interest in understanding
the legal and political systems of the Mainland. Since then,
Annabella always hoped to take part in the development of her
own country, particularly in its legal system.
In the mid-nineties, Annabella enrolled and completed the
new MBA course launched by the Zhongshan University in
Guangzhou. In 2000, she obtained a PhD in law from the Renmin
University of China. Notwithstanding her busy work and study
schedules, she traveled to different Chinese provinces and cities
to participate in seminars and conferences and share her
experience in legal practice.
Among her tight schedules, Annabella had her own way of
appreciating life. She had practised horse-riding since
graduation. Despite minor accidents in her horse-riding, she
never give up her favourite hobby. She spent many holidays in
New Zealand horse-riding in beautiful beaches. Annabella also
took great interest in tab dancing and spent nights after work
practising tab dancing whole-heartedly. Annabella showed her
strength and persistence even in her hobbies.
I still vividly remember meeting Annabella in a car park at
Admiralty years ago, when she just got off from her motorbike in
work suit, took off her helmet and tidied her long waving hair. She
used to go to office by motorbike. I would never forget the passion
and vitality glittering in her smiling eyes on that encounter.
To me, Annabella had endless energy and great interests for
life. She had clear vision of her goals and would use her best
endeavours to do everything well, both in her job and hobbies.
Annabella had also made consistent efforts to realize her
dreams. I will always remember and miss her cheerful smiles of
determination and optimism.
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