Project Title: Can Artificial Intelligence based on current computer architecture generate consciousness?
Presenter: XU Hang, MA in Philosophy
Presentation Time: 10:00am – 10:30am
Presentation Language: English

• This article examines whether artificial intelligence, based on current computer architecture, can achieve true consciousness. By analyzing John Searle’s “Chinese Room” thought experiment, the author argues that while current neural network-based AI models simulate human behavior functionally, they are fundamentally constrained by a framework of symbolic manipulation and statistical generation. Drawing from biological naturalism and Kripke’s theory of necessary identity, the author introduces the concept of “biological essence binding”: genuine emotional experiences must metaphysically depend on specific biological neurochemical substrates that current digital circuit-based AI architectures cannot surpass. Although AI cannot attain emotional experiences or consciousness comparable to humans, its analogical capabilities may still present significant ethical challenges, particularly as future technological advancements could allow AI to self-modify moral norms.
  
  
  

Project Title: Reconciling Physicalism and Objectivism – A Critical Analysis of the Knowledge Argument through Mary’s Thought Experiment
Presenter: POON Sheung Yin Esther, MA in Philosophy
Presentation Time: 10:30am – 11:00am
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• This research explores the relationship between physicalism and objectivism through analysing Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument, more famously known as the thought experiment of Mary the brilliant scientist who learns all sciences in a black-and-white environment. When Mary experiences colours for the first time, does she learn something new? If she does, the qualia of seeing colours is not physical, so physicalism is wrong.
  This is unacceptable to many, for the success of science in the contemporary world has led many thinkers to shift from dualism to monism, particularly physicalism. Some alternatively direct the attack of Knowledge Argument to objectivism instead of physicalism: Mary learns something new, so not all aspects of our world can be exhausted by objective, scientific methods, even though it is solely physical. This reveals the distinction between the ways the world is and the scientific representations of it.
  By examining conceptions of objectivity and reconstructing the notions of physicalism, objectivism and science, I offer a way to reconcile physicalism and objectivism in order to bridge the gap among science, metaphysics and human experience. This reconciliation offers new insights into how we can make sense of the significance of human experiences in the contemporary scientific era.
  
  
  

Project Title: Ecstasy, eros and sex: God-Human Relationship
Presenter: LI Linxiangyu, MA in Religious Studies
Presentation Time: 11:00am – 11:30am
Presentation Language: English

• In Christianity, diverse descriptions of the God-Human relationship exist, such as Father-Son, Friendship, and even Mother-in-law-Daughter-in-law. Notably, some view it as a Male-Female erotic relationship. The male-female erotic motif holds unique theological prominence. Biblical texts such as the Song of Songs, Hosea, and Ezekiel employ marital and sensual imagery to symbolize divine-human intimacy, blending spiritual yearning with embodied passion. While individuals hold different mindsets about their connection with God, these are personal practices not universalizable across the entire Church. The canon contains numerous descriptions of the God-Human bond based on erotic relationship. The question arises: why has the Male-Female erotic relationship become a common depiction in Christianity? Through the lenses of Feminine Biblical studies and queer theology, we can potentially uncover the reasons for its status as a typical representation of the God-Human relationship.
  
  
  

Project Title: Implication of The Yellow River Piano Concerto in the Cultural Journey
Presenter: LAM Tsz Hin, MA in Music
Presentation Time: 11:30am – 12:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• This paper examines the influential Chinese piano concerto The Yellow River Piano Concerto, which was composed and arranged by a collaboration of composers and premiered in 1970. This concerto serves as an entry point to view the musical culture of China from the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and onwards. Musical culture is a dynamic process as it evolves over time due to societal changes, economic influences, technological advancements, globalization, and interactions between different cultures. This study aims to elucidate the implication and meaning of the piano concerto and how it manifests the values, traditions, and culture that are prevalent in China chronologically. It discusses how this piano concerto is created, performed, consumed, and understood within different time and space. The discussion is bifurcated into two key historical periods: the pre-1978 period and the post-1978 period. This study primarily focuses on the symbolic meaning and function of this concerto and how it would provide a comprehensive realization of society. By exploring the connections between this concerto and the culture diachronically, this paper seeks to enhance comprehension of how its significance has changed in different periods throughout the contemporary musical history of China.

Project Title: 杭州煙霞洞東壁浮雕畫及主尊造像試析
Presenter: WANG Feifei, MA in Buddhist Studies
Presentation Time: 10:00am – 10:30am
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 本研究以杭州烟霞洞东壁浮雕及主尊造像为核心，揭示五代吴越佛教艺术中政教互动的特殊形态。综合运用考古类型学与图像学方法，论证浮雕图像系统与弥勒信仰的内在关联：花树造型对接榆林窟25窟弥勒经变龙华树范式，腾云人物融合吴越武士供养人特征与敦煌飞升信众图式，盘龙柱视觉化呈现《弥勒下生经》”宝龙吐华”的末世救赎意象。考辨主尊身份由庆友尊者向弥勒菩萨的转换逻辑，结合罗汉群像构建”现世护法-未来净土”双重时空体系，印证吴越佛教”法住思想”与弥勒信仰的共时性发展。研究阐明该遗存通过图像转译将《法住记》末世论与王室政治诉求融合，既反映吴越政权借助佛教艺术建构合法性的运作机制，亦为江南石窟本土化实践及末法思想视觉表达提供突破性个案，推动10世纪东亚佛教艺术研究范式创新。
  
  
  

Project Title: 人間佛教神聖性再討論——兼論人間淨土與彌陀淨土之關係
Presenter: SHENG Hui, MA in Buddhist Studies
Presentation Time: 10:30am – 11:00am
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 本文第一部分就佛教內外對人間佛教神聖性的質疑進行探討，認為基於基督教研究而立論的西方宗教社會學理論並不適用於佛教神聖性的討論，應當從佛教教義本身出發，探討神聖性。文章第二部分在確認人間佛教神聖性的基礎上，討論人間淨土與彌陀淨土之關係。
  
  
  

Project Title: Exploring the Youth Mental Health Problems in Hong Kong from the Pure Land of Mahayana Buddhism
Presenter: LO Lung Wah, MA in Buddhist Studies
Presentation Time: 11:00am – 11:30am
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• The contemporary world is a complex and rapidly changing environment that profoundly shapes human experience. In the era of globalization, the rapid development of society and technology, fierce competition, family concept, the pursuit of dreams, interpersonal relationship; our work and life lead to frustration, anxiety, depression, despair and bewilderment. This article mainly from the Mahayana Buddhism大乘佛教discusses Hong Kong youth’s mental health problems; furthermore try to narrate Mahayana Buddhism Buddha-chanting 稱名念佛. In short, it is to practise Buddha-chanting, an exclusive meditation method of Pure Land淨土教門, the other-power他力的仗佛力from Amitābha’s support to expect gaining rebirth in western Pure Land往生西方極樂世界Sukhāvatī. However, there is also self-power自力的信願行, which is practitioner’s own Buddhist religious exertions such as Pratītyasamutpāda緣起法, Noble Eight-fold Path八正道, Four Noble Truths苦集道滅, Compassion慈悲and Bodhicitta菩提心. All these self-power help purify soul, calm emotions, relieve stress, understand and behave ourselves, care and help others, harmonize families and contribute to society.
  
  
  

Project Title: 爱情与复活：北非太阳神崇拜的现代再现
Presenter: YAO Yi, MA in Religious Studies
Presentation Time: 11:30am – 12:00pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 该文章将运用符号学和全球史学的视角，探索爱心符号的起源及其宗教含义，研究“爱情与复活”的主题在北非太阳神崇拜体系中的重要关联，以及现代文化如何体现古埃及宗教与神话的元素。通过探讨爱情与复活主题在古埃及等北非神话中的表现，本文将揭示现代文化与古代信仰之间的继承性联系，同时挑战“西方中心论”的文化输出范式，证明北非宗教文化对于地中海区域乃至欧洲等西方世界的持续性影响。

Project Title: 論魏慶之《詩人玉屑》對兩宋詩學之總結與反撥
Presenter: LEE Wing Ho, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 10:00am – 10:30am
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• 魏慶之《詩人玉屑》成書於南宋末年，為宋詩話總集最晚出者，對兩宋詩學話語多有徵存總結之功。《四庫提要》論玉屑謂「南宋人語較備」以來，考玉屑詩學者往往偏重其南宋論述，從「江西」或「盛唐」兩種對立詩學取向歸結編者取向，未能從歷史維度洞悉全貌。本文擬從《詩人玉屑》所錄之北宋部分，勾勒編者對胡仔《苕溪漁隱叢話》之多元接受，提出魏慶之對胡仔所標榜的「元祐」詩學之繼承，從而明細魏慶之對「宋詩」之歷史取態。
  
  
  

Project Title: 說「任」
Presenter: TSE Ka Long, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 10:30am – 11:00am
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• 本文將以香港粵語的「任」為研究對象，並從語義及語法的角度探討其在香港粵語中的一些特殊用法。首先，文章將分析「任」在香港粵語中與動詞搭配時的特殊表現，並將其與現代漢語中的「任」及「隨便」進行比較分析。此外，本文亦會比較現代漢語中用作讓步連詞的「任」及「任憑」所構成的讓步句式（下文稱為「任」字句）與香港粵語「任」字句的表現差異。最後，筆者將從歷時的角度嘗試探討香港粵語中「任」的上述兩種用法的演變來源。
  
  
  

Project Title: 《方方日記》所見疾病文學的新視角
Presenter: WOO Yuan Jie Alice, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 11:00am – 11:30am
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• 中國疾病書寫長期以來呈現出文學與社會深度交織的特徵，反映了疾病在文化與敘事層面的多重意涵。2019年新冠肺炎爆發後，全球進入「大隔離時代」，催生了抗疫主題的數位日記。因此，本文以廣受關注的《方方日記》為研究對象，結合疫情的現實背景，從文體敘事與網絡媒介功能為切入點，說明數位日記延續傳統書寫中對個體經驗的深度關注，並經過社交媒體的傳播，強化文學的公共話語，展現疾病文學的重新定位，闡釋文學於網絡迅速傳播與疫情的封閉現實之張力。
  
  
  

Project Title: 論王良和〈來娣的命根〉的家庭書寫
Presenter: TSE Nga Ki, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 11:30am – 12:00pm
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• 「來娣」意為祈求下一位家庭成員為男孩。「命根」一是指來娣的「命根子」，二是指命中注定的人生。小說融入純粵語對話和民間信仰，呈現重男輕女、重視家庭完整，以及個人決定權屬於直系親屬的香港家庭文化。
  是項研究以〈來娣的命根〉為文本，運用文本分析法和社會學方法，透過剖析家庭成員的人物形象和小說敘事特徵，窺探香港普通家庭中成員的生存處境，以及對個人宿命與家庭關係的思考。

Project Title: 吳中、龍眠、北地與京城：清代不同地域白陸群體接受互動之比較
Presenter: YANG Hudi, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 現有清代詩學書寫普遍重視關鍵批評者特性，而對清人普遍接受白居易、陸游的現象所呈現的共性關注較少。本文結合解釋學和影響史理論， 地域比較為經，詩話、選本、創作等方面之接受為緯，考察白居易、陸游詮釋和接受纍積定型的過程。在詩壇弊端和政治現實的反思中，白陸二家共同的特質，因文學、政治等不同視角與目的緊密結合，在自覺或無意識的沿襲中成為定式。考察“邊緣詩家”接受的動態發展能反應當時文學場域對白陸利用塑造詩學風格和品格的現象，冀以此梳理詩學史的一條潛流。
  
  
  

Project Title: 從滑稽敘事論妒婦文學傳播的怪誕心理——以出土竹簡本〈妄稽〉為中心
Presenter: WONG Kwan Yuet, MA in Chinese Language and Literature
Presentation Time: 1:30pm – 2:00pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 漢簡〈妄稽〉講述了醜女妄稽因「妒」折磨丈夫周春新買的美妾虞士，終在大病將死前被療妒的故事。學者推算〈妄稽〉為目前發現的最早的俗賦。現有關於漢簡〈妄稽〉的研究極少，有待思考的是，為何西漢時期會塑造此類妒婦文學？並作為娛樂的俗賦形式傳播？體現了作者和聽眾的甚麼心理？是否為西漢俗賦普遍現象？本報告欲以〈妄稽〉為中心，探討先秦時期以創作、講誦、閲聽此類妒婦文學為樂的心理特徵及其背後成因與影響。
  
  
  

Project Title: The Auditory Subject and the Mirror Image of Modern Chinese Literary History 中國現代文學中的聽覺主體與歷史鏡像
Presenter: HU Hongrui, MA in Chinese Studies
Presentation Time: 2:00pm – 2:30pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• This study re-examines the modernity of Chinese literature (1917–1937) through the lens of auditory culture. Drawing on Raymond Williams’ concept of cultural materialism and Wolfgang Welsch’s notion of the auditory turn, it argues that auditory experiences played a pivotal role in shaping modern subjectivity and collective identity during China’s nation-building process, particularly within the realm of literature. The paper contends that auditory perception, as both a social and aesthetic sense, constructed an alternative modernity embedded in literary soundscapes. The analysis explores how auditory feeling shaped modern subject formation. For instance, Hu Shih’s and Lu Xun’s symbolic allegories of a “voiceless nation” expose the paradoxes inherent in enlightenment discourses that demand a national voice. Similarly, Yu Dafu’s exploration of the connection between hearing and spirituality reveals an aesthetic subjectivity, while Mao Dun and Shen Congwen’s contrasting depictions of urban and rural soundscapes highlight the divergent tones of modernity. Furthermore, Xiao Hong and Eileen Chang’s fractured auditory landscapes epitomize the disintegration of modernity, where dissonant sounds deconstruct nationalist narratives. By examining the diverse auditory experiences of modern individuals, we can reinterpret modern literature and the historical framework underpinning it, thereby uncovering the intricate and multifaceted patterns of the modern subject.
  
  
  

Project Title: 復製與流通：從《神州國光集》看清末民初上海古物觀賞方式的公共轉向
Presenter: YANG Kaiyi, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 通過與「美術」相關的圖版製作，清末民初在上海發行的《神州國光集》使古物複製品得以產生與真跡相近的文化表達。本文以1908年至1912年間發行的21集該刊為論述對象，分析其圖像、文字為讀者呈現出的排列邏輯與印刷方式偏好，結合隨不同印刷方式給出的作品説明、觀賞指南，證明製作與傳播方式的變革使得該刊所載古物不再於私人空間內得到士人「遊觀」，而是在輯錄人的選擇、排列之後，為讀者呈現出一種視覺狀態下的公共空間。
  
  
  

Project Title: 章学诚形象变迁与中国现代史学
Presenter: WANG Ziyi, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 章学诚被认为是清中期一名重要的思想史家，在中国史学史上拥有较高地位，其“六经皆史”等观点在海内外产生了巨大影响。然而，通过梳理文献可以发现，学界对章学诚学术思想的看法并不一致，在其史学史地位升格的过程中，章学诚被塑造成迥然不同的形象，一方面，他被描述为一位纯粹的经学拥护者；另一方面，他被描述为一位近代思想解放的先驱。本研究试图回答产生这样现象的原因，并对章学诚思想研究进行了批判与展望。

Project Title: An Acoustic Exploration of Aspirated Fricatives in Gyersgang Tibetan
Presenter: DU Sirui, MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition
Presentation Time: 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• Aspirated fricatives are typologically uncommon sounds, primarily concentrated in Asia, the Americas, and parts of Africa. The Sino-Tibetan language family exhibits high prevalence of aspirated fricatives (Jacques, 2011).
  Gyersgang, an endangered Eastern Tibetic language spoken in Thebo County, Gansu Province, China, features a contrast between aspirated and unaspirated fricatives in three distinct articulatory positions: alveolar (/sʰ/-/s/), alveolo-palatal (/ɕʰ/-/ɕ/), and uvular (/χʰ/-/χ/). Jacques (2011) highlights that aspirated fricatives are notoriously unstable sounds, with languages like Burmese showing ongoing mergers of aspirated and unaspirated fricatives (Wheatley, 2003).
  This study examines the acoustic properties of the three fricative pairs in Gyersgang across different vowels (/i/, /e/, /a/) produced by 10 speakers. While the strident pairs (/sʰ/-/s/, /ɕʰ/-/ɕ/) retain significant acoustic distinctions in terms of center of gravity and standard deviation, the non-strident pair (/χʰ/-/χ/) was more similar. Interestingly, older speakers (over 40 years) retained a clear /χʰ/-/χ/ contrast before the high vowel /i/, while younger speakers showed no contrast between /χʰ/-/χ/ across all vowel contexts.
  The loss of the /χʰ/-/χ/ distinction is shifting toward tonal differentiation, as /χʰ/ gets higher onset F0 than /χ/ (p<.001). The findings align with expectations of phonological reorganization in unstable categories, suggesting a dynamic linguistic evolution.
  
  
  

Project Title: Licensing Conditions of the Cantonese Sentence-final Particle zyu 住
Presenter: HUANG Jing, MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition
Presentation Time: 1:30pm – 2:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• The Cantonese sentence-final particle (SFP) zyu expresses the temporary status of an event, e.g., keoi mei zau zyu ‘He has not yet left’ (Matthews & Yip 1994, Leung 2005, Tang 2009). This study investigates the licensing conditions of zyu. Tang (2009) argues that the Cantonese SFP zyu is licensed only by preverbal negator such as m (‘not’), mei (‘not yet’), and mai (‘don’t’). This study expands on Tang’s generalization by showing that zyu can also be licensed by negative classifier (e.g., mou jan ‘no one’, mou gam faai ‘not that soon’) and in pragmatically non-assertive environments, such as A-not-A questions and negative wh-constructions. Second, Tang also claims that zyu is restricted to dynamic verbs. However, this study reveals that zyu is compatible with stative (e.g., sik ‘know’) and dispositional (e.g., mou sam cing ‘not in the mood’) predicates when they occur in clauses that delay event realization. Together, these observations enrich our understanding of the licensing conditions of zyu, demonstrating that its well-formedness is determined not only by the overt negator and verb class, but by broader interactions among syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
  
  
  

Project Title: The Acquisition of Mandarin Sentence-Final Particle ne (呢) in L1 Cantonese-L2
Presenters: CHEN Jiayu and WONG Chun Man Manson, MA in Linguistics
Presentation Time: 2:00pm – 2:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• The sentence-final particle (SFP) ne (呢), one of the few Mandarin SFPs with dual projections in the split CP domain (i.e., S.AspP and AttitudeP), has different discourse functions (i.e., denoting progressive aspect and expressing speaker’s attitude) (Pan, 2019, 2021). Such unique property gives rise to syntactic and semantic complexities, which may pose acquisition challenges for L2 learners. Therefore, this study investigates the L2 acquisition of Mandarin SFP ne by comparing data collected from five L1 speakers in Mainland China and five L2 speakers in Hong Kong SAR. A narrative retelling task using Frog Goes to Dinner (Mayer, 1974) and an acceptability judgment task were employed to assess their production and perceived felicity of the SFP ne respectively. The results of the two experimental tasks show that L2 Mandarin learners exhibited greater difficulties in acquiring the ne denoting progressive aspect (S.AspP) than the one used for indicating speaker’s attitude (AttitudeP). The observed acquisition difficulties can be attributed to cross-linguistic differences in the construction of progressive aspect in Cantonese and Mandarin, statistical regularities in the input, as well as to the asymmetrical form-meaning mappings between Mandarin ne and its Cantonese counterparts that serve the same discourse functions.
  
  
  

Project Title: A Narrative Inquiry and Autoethnography into the Language Experiences and Identities of Hong Kong-Japanese Mixed-Heritage Youths
Presenter: Rin MURAKAMI, MA in English (Applied English Linguistics)
Presentation Time: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• As globalization increases intercultural interactions, families with mixed-heritage children are becoming more common. These individuals often navigate complex identities and language practices, highlighting the need to explore their identity construction and the role of language in shaping mixed-heritage identities. While research on European and North American contexts is extensive, the experiences of Hong Kong-Japanese mixed-heritage youths remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap, contributing to broader discourse on Asian mixed-heritage identities in an Asian context.
  This research is partly grounded in the researcher’s own lived experience as a Hong Kong-Japanese mixed-heritage individual. The analysis adopts a poststructuralist perspective on identity as context-dependent and socially embedded. It draws on frameworks such as Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), which highlights heritage language as a marker of group membership and belonging.
  Using a mixed-method approach—combining narrative inquiry with autoethnography in a multiple-case study—this research investigates the language practices and identity formation of Hong Kong-Japanese mixed-heritage youths. This presentation focuses on two narratives: Mina’s and the researcher’s. Preliminary findings show that language proficiency and societal expectations significantly shape their sense of belonging. Participants’ emotional struggles, marked by pride and tension, reveal how their mixed-heritage backgrounds contribute to fluid and evolving identities.
  
  
  

Project Title: Individual Differences in the Category Learning of Cantonese Tones by Native Mandarin-speaking Adults
Presenter: SUN Yingshuo, MA in Linguistics
Presentation Time: 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• Speech learning in foreign languages is known to be particularly difficult for adults. Although challenging, adults can learn non-native phonetic contrasts through category training. However, the factors that affect their learning outcome remain unclear. This study examines the category learning of Cantonese tonal contrasts by Mandarin native speakers and investigates the factors that affect their learning outcomes as measured through three pre-learning experiments. The main experiment is category learning, in which thirty Mandarin-speaking adults are trained to categorize non-native Cantonese tones through six training blocks and one test block. To explore the factors that correlated with their learning outcome, three pre-learning experiments are conducted to measure their pitch aptitude, namely Mandarin tone perception, speaker identification, and Cantonese prosody discrimination. Linear mixed-effects regression (LMER) analyses are implemented on the behavioural results to examine effects of training on performance of participants. Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) is used to measure the correlation between the performance of pre-training experiments and the category learning of Cantonese tones. The results are expected to show that (1) participants have an overall improvement in categorizing non-native tones across six training blocks; (2) the performances in pre-learning experiments are predictors of the learning outcome of novel tone categories.

Project Title: “Girl, You Are Voguing!”: Voguing Class, Feminine Performance, and Queer Community
Presenter: TONG Xu, MA in Anthropology
Presentation Time: 1:00pm – 1:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• Voguing is a genre of dance styles that has evolved over the past four decades within the Black LGBTQ+ community in the US and is now globalized. The primary space for its practice has been the ballroom scene. Drawing on Marlon Bailey’s monograph on Ballroom culture and Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, this research examines voguing classes in Shenzhen, China, through anthropological ethnography to analyze how communal practices produce gendered subjectivities. It explores how these classes, as a performative arena, cultivate feminine bodies through corporeal representation of gender norms.
  While previous studies focus on ballroom events and competition performances, this research argues that Shenzhen’s voguing classes uniquely function as a site of both discipline and liberation. Having gradually grown as the largest hub for voguing community in mainland China, however, Shenzhen’s spatial governance, which restricts LGBTQ+ public gatherings, forces the community to negotiate visibility through dancing class rituals. By documenting how participants mimic and annotate Black feminine gestures, the study reveals the paradoxical reinforcement and subversion of gender norms in an East Asia context. This research, positioned at the intersection of anthropology, gender, and performance studies, interrogates the limits of Western ballroom studies in a socialist urban context.
  
  
  

Project Title: Cutting Off Parents: Experiences of Estranged Adult Children in Hong Kong
Presenter: WONG Yik Fung, MA in Anthropology
Presentation Time: 1:30pm – 2:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• This study examines how adult children in Hong Kong reconsider their relationships with their parents, especially when they decide to cut off or become estranged. Under the influence of Confucianism and neoliberalism, most Hong Kong families believed strongly in family responsibility. Adult children are commonly obliged to give family contributions and take care of their elderly parents. It is unimaginable to be estranged from parents. However, there has been a slight change in the situation. With the bloom of psychological knowledge in society, many adult children are rethinking their childhood experiences and becoming aware of the relationship between personal failures and the parenting they experienced. Family conflicts that used to be accepted or tolerated are considered valid reasons for ending relationships altogether. My ethnography explores how psy fever contributed to the decision of estrangement of adult children and how they estranged from their parents.
  
  
  

Project Title: Waiting to Be Recognized: Cruel Optimism and Queer Legal Time in Sham Tsz Kit v. Secretary for Justice
Presenter: CHAN Xavier I Chun, MA in Intercultural Studies
Presentation Time: 2:00pm – 2:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• This paper analyzes the 2023 Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal decision in Sham Tsz Kit v. Secretary for Justice, highlighting how that case builds an affective and temporal architecture of partial recognition for LGBTQ+ persons. The ruling directs the government to develop an alternative legal regime enabling same-sex partnerships but intentionally falls short of providing full marriage equality. As such, it produces a state of suspended legitimacy — queer subjects are recognized but are still on the periphery of the normative center of legal and cultural life.
  Using Lauren Berlant’s concept of “cruel optimism,” this paper reads the court’s discourse not only as jurisprudential but also as a kind of emotional governance, where hope is invited but always deferred. Methodologically, it uses critical discourse analysis and affect theory to read the legal ruling as a cultural and rhetorical text. The article also contextualizes such a reading against the complexity in Hong Kong’s socio-legal landscape of Confucian family ideals, colonial legal legacies, and changing public attitudes towards queerness.
  The paper does not assess the legal correctness of the decision but reflects on what it means to wait, to live in queer legal temporality structured by uncertainty, compromise, and longing.
  
  
  

Project Title: Singing Along the Road of Life: Golden Oldies, Creative Wellness, and Communal Elderly Performance in Hong Kong
Presenter: Kate POON, MA in Music
Presentation Time: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• With Hong Kong’s elderly projected to rise to 36% of the population by 2046 (Census and Statistics Department 2023), ageing and creative wellness emerge as a timely topic.
  To date, elderly research in Hong Kong has focused on therapy-based interventions (e.g. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals 2016). In another direction, my paper will start reflexively with my experience in November 2024 of leading elderly singers in a performance of Chinese golden oldies, in association with the Hong Kong Women Foundation Limited Ho Kwok Pui Chun Neighbourhood Elderly Centre and the Social Welfare Department. Building on that experience and my engagement with public humanities and human creativity (Wilson and Bulaitis 2024), I will explore golden oldies and their capacity for fostering creative wellness through communal elderly performance. This also speaks to current scholarship on positive and creative ageing (Creech 2018).
  Referencing Schechner’s work in performance studies (1985), I hope to better understand elderly creative wellness through the communal “restored behaviour” of singing golden oldies. I also hope to connect this discussion of singing along the road of life with the doing of public humanities (Smulyan 2020), thereby amplifying ageing as a flourishing human experience in the contemporary world.
  
  
  

Project Title: “Female Detectives” in Suspenseful Historical Idol Dramas
Presenter: CHEN Peiqi, MA in Chinese Studies
Presentation Time: 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• This project explores suspenseful historical idol dramas (悬疑古装偶像剧) featuring “female detectives” (女侦探) from a feminist perspective. Divided into three parts—background setting, character design, and emotional interactions—it examines the genre’s evolution as it integrates elements of fantasy (奇幻), suspense (悬疑), and crime (犯罪). The project highlights the portrayal of female leads, such as female coroners (女仵作), female medical examiners (女法医), female constables (女捕快), and female guards (女护卫), who embody roles traditionally reserved for men in historical contexts. These narratives often present a glamorized version of ancient China, where societal barriers like the Outcast System (贱籍制) disappear, allowing for a better environment for female characters. Character design focuses on female detectives raised in supportive environments, engaging in diverse social activities beyond domestic confines. Emotional interactions between male and female leads originate in professional collaboration, fostering mutual respect that gradually develops into romance. This depiction challenges traditional gender norms, ultimately showcasing the strength and complexity of female protagonists in these dramas.

Project Title: Bottom-up Approach in Heritage Conservation: Case Study of Hong Kong and Overseas
Presenters: CHU Fung Ling and YUEN Ka Chun, MA in Cultural Management
Presentation Time: 4:00pm – 4:30pm
Presentation Language: Cantonese

• UNESCO defines cultural heritage conservation as preserving the physical and cultural characteristics of heritage sites to ensure their longevity and significance. Hong Kong, evolving from a fishing port to a major city, faces challenges in preserving aging buildings, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts. However, the government and Antiquities Authority often employ a top-down approach, alienating local communities. A notable case is the State Theatre, where redevelopment plans sparked public outcry, reflecting community attachment to the site. In contrast, a bottom-up approach emphasizes public participation and engagement, fostering a sense of ownership in conservation initiatives. This essay analyzes Hong Kong’s tangible heritage conservation, highlighting the importance of intangible social values and community identity. By examining current policies and the State Theatre controversy, it showcases how civil society promotes preservation while addressing challenges, ultimately suggesting improvements for conservation policies.
  
  
  

Project Title: Nostalgia and Dealing with the Past
Presenter: Liam LAU, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• The smell of spaghetti with meatballs makes us think of the dish made by our grandmothers. The sight of a cuddly black Shiba makes us remember our dogs when we were small. The overwhelming sense of nostalgia invariably surrounds us as we are plagued by our past, our present selves having owed a great deal to the past, good or bad. We reminisce with pleasure and sadness, partly because the past gives great intrigue, and partly because we are physically unable to grasp and relive our memories. For historians, the feeling is even more intense. It goes without saying that history is the study of the past. Humans, historians in particular, are endowed with nostalgia, the remembrance and examination of the past for its achievements or misdeeds. Historians are as impressed by revolutionary ideas as disgusted by racial segregation and genocide. Why are humans in the contemporary world obsessed with the past? How do historians deal with nostalgia? What lessons can we learn from nostalgia? Such are the questions I attempt to tackle. Nostalgia is a natural and sentimental product when studying history; to understand nostalgia is to understand humanity via the three realms of past, present, and future.
  
  
  

Project Title: Sound and Fury a Century Ago: Reading The China Weekly Review (1924.09-1924.12)
Presenter: ZHENG Xin, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 5:00pm – 5:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• This study analyzes Sino-American trade dynamics and China’s economic fragility in autumn 1924 through The China Weekly Review (September–December 1924). Focusing on its “What the Ships Carry” and “Weekly Cotton Market Report” columns, it exposes China’s structural weaknesses amid warlordism, natural disasters, and global economic pressures. Quantitative data highlight China’s dependence on agricultural exports (silk, tea, bristles) and industrial imports (machinery, lubricants), underscoring its underdeveloped industrialization. Paradoxically, 1924 saw peak Beiyang government revenues from tariffs and salt taxes, revealing tensions between domestic instability and globalized fiscal systems. The paper critiques Dr. Pan Shü-lun’s trade forecasts, interrogating his empirical validity and commercial biases. Framing trade patterns within Braudelian longue durée perspectives, it challenges linear progress narratives, emphasizing enduring structural continuities in Sino-American relations. By integrating global market forces, semi-colonial governance, and geopolitical rivalries, this research advances historiographical debates on China’s early 20th-century political economy, demonstrating how external pressures and internal fragmentation shaped national trajectories during a transformative era.
  
  
  

Project Title: The beauty of Art: Believe in your instincts
Presenter: CHEUNG Tsz Man, MA in Fine Arts
Presentation Time: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• In an age dominated by artificial intelligence, the beauty of human creativity in the art field remains irreplaceable. Art is a profound expression of the human experience, reflecting emotions, thoughts, and cultural narratives that AI, despite its capabilities, cannot genuinely replicate. Artists harness their instincts, channeling their unique perspectives and lived experiences into their work, creating pieces that resonate on a deeply personal level.
  The tactile nature of painting, the spontaneity of sculpting, and the emotional depth of music all stem from the human condition. These forms of expression capture subtleties of life that algorithms cannot comprehend. While AI can generate images or compose music based on patterns, it lacks the intuitive spark that comes from a human soul.
  Moreover, art fosters connection and empathy, inviting viewers to engage in dialogues about their own experiences. In a world increasingly influenced by technology, nurturing our artistic instincts becomes essential. It serves as a reminder of our individuality and the richness of our shared humanity. Embracing the beauty of art allows us to transcend the overwhelming nature of AI, celebrating creativity as a distinctly human endeavor that enriches our lives and communities.

Project Title: Li Zehou and The Contemporary China
Presenter: LUO Xing Jian, MA in Chinese Studies
Presentation Time: 4:00pm – 4:30pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• Li Zehou was one of the greatest thinkers in modern China. His thinking, ranging from “Western Substance, Chinese Application(西体中用)”, “Subjectality(Subjectivity)”, “Sedimentation”, to “Emotion Noumenon(情本体)”, was well constructed. These concepts and theories were based on the studies and research prior to him, but at the same time were sufficiently original that the scope of influence transcended the 1980s China when Li Zehou was most active in the intellectual circle. Even in the contemporary China, Li Zehou’s thinking is still highly relevant in that it remedies the modern society’s alienation that are caused by the individualism and affect people around the world, including China. The complementary element of Li Zehou’s thinking stems from his emphasis on the dynamics between the individual and the collective, the significance of history, production and tools. He invites us to think in a less individualistic manner and turn to a relatively more collective and historical, social perspective. This feature complements the western thinking such as Kant’s, which is characterized by its ahistorical, a priori approach. In the contemporary China, we might still need Li Zehou’s legacy to answer the question of modernity, modernization in a Chinese context.
  
  
  

Project Title: Love for Hometown, Love for Nation: A Study on the Native-place Education Textbooks of Zhoushan Archipelago Written by Wang Hengyan in the Late Qing Dynasty and Its Enlightenment to Current Local Education
Presenter: TU Zehao, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• The education system in the late Qing Dynasty was impacted by the world, and the Qing government also realized the role of education in shaping students’ patriotism. After the implementation of the Gui-mao School System, the Qing government promoted local education nationwide, and various native-place education textbooks emerged. On the Zhoushan Archipelago, Wang Hengyan, a scholar from Dinghai, realized that local chronicles in the past emphasized the discussion of ancient events, but lacked detailed understanding of current society, which often led to students feeling distant and elusive in teaching. Based on the textual research of ancient local chronicles and practical investigations, Wang Hengyan organized and compiled materials according to chapters and lessons, thus creating the “Dinghaixiangtujiaokeshu (Dinghai Native-place Education Textbooks)”. He intended to achieve the teaching effect of “easily arousing the thoughts of loving the land and the country among students”. Unfortunately, with the dramatic changes in the Qing Dynasty, Wang Hengyan’s educational ideas were not implemented. However, Wang Hengyan’s “Dinghaixiangtujiaokeshu” is an important material for the study of island local culture, and also a microcosm of the process of modern Chinese education reform. It can provide reference for the compilation of local education books at present.
  
  
  

Project Title: 關於明朝和新中國異代同都北京的歷史比較研究——以戰略抉擇、維持機制與地緣影響為視角The Sustained Capital: Historical Origins and Contemporary Transformations of Resource Provisioning Systems for China’s Political Center
Presenter: WEN Tianyang, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 5:00pm – 5:30pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 北京在1421年與1949年兩度為都，反映出兩個時代新政權現實考量與治理邏輯的相似性。永樂帝與中共領導人均放棄舊都南京而以北京為都的抉擇使得原本的經濟中心與新的政治中心南北兩立，進而催生出獨特的資源供應體系，以維持京師運轉或首都優先地位。兩度定都及後續舉措不僅影響了國家的宏觀運作，亦造就了近世中國京畿的穩定生成。本研究將以戰略抉擇、維持機制及地緣影響為視角，比較考察明朝與新中國異代同都的時代特殊性，並從中呈現延續至今的歷史脈絡。The decisions to designate Beijing as the capital in 1421 and 1949 reveals the deep logic of China’s political geography. Despite Nanjing’s superior economic foundations, both the Ming Dynasty and the People’s Republic of China prioritized political symbolism and practical security concerns: the Ming aimed to guard against Mongol threats with the emperor guarding the frontier and the PRC sought to align with the socialist bloc. These parallel decisions led to a prolonged separation between the political center (Beijing) and the economic heartland (Jiangnan), necessitating unique resource provisioning systems for the capital: the Ming relied on the Grand Canal to annually transport vast quantities of southern grain to the capital, while designating Beizhili (ancient Hebei) as a supply zone; the PRC institutionalized Beijing’s provisioning privileges through the household registration system and planned economy, perpetuating Hebei’s role as a support region. These coercive policies profoundly shaped daily life in the capital’s periphery. By analyzing the historical particularity and continuity in resource allocation across both eras, this study examines how the enduring divide between political and economic centers has influenced national governance and ordinary livelihoods since late imperial China until today.
  
  
  

Project Title: 車厢裏的現代性：近代上海電車事業與市民觀念轉型（1908-1937）
Presenter: MA Heng, MA in Comparative and Public History
Presentation Time: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Presentation Language: Mandarin

• 在抗戰爆發前夕，作爲遠東國際都市的上海是中國乃至東亞現代化的標識。中國傳統遺産與西方近世文明在此交匯，而以有軌電車爲代表的公共交通則成爲文明碰撞衝突的縮影。自英商1路有軌電車在1908年正式運行，上海市民日常生活與觀念在無形中被電車重塑。電車打破了身份的階級性，培育了市民的時尚觀念，强化了規則權利意識，甚至刺激了公民政治參與。現代性隨列車齊頭幷進，觀念與技術都在飛馳中駛向百年後的當下。

Project Title: Creative City Practices: A Comparative Study of IP “Kumamon” and Chinese City IPs
Presenter: ZHI Yongxuan, MA in Cultural Management
Presentation Time: 4:00pm – 4:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• In the context of the development of modern cities, urban IP image is a unique existence, it is not only a summary of the image of a city anthropomorphic, but also a means of shaping the city brand, is a creative image and cultural product with unique personality and artistic value, and fully reflects the culture and connotation of a city. This paper/presentation analyzes kumamon, the IP image of Kumamoto Prefecture. The factors that can resonate with the audience are dug out deeply, and the IP is fully compared with the image of Chinese cities, so as to provide a new idea for the construction of Chinese city brands.
  
  
  

Project Title: A Critical Reading of Earthlings: Sayaka Murata’s Challenge on Social Norms
Presenter: CHU Yan Ting, MA in Japanese Studies
Presentation Time: 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• Sayaka Murata is an Akutagawa Prize-winning Japanese female author. Her novels have gone viral worldwide and gained significant attention in Japan through her distinct portrayal of women’s voices. However, Murata’s speculative fictions go beyond feminism themes, as scholars has also found her works reflecting realistic social issues in contemporary Japan, with a particular focus on exploring social norms in contemporary Japanese society. According to Peng, the writer invites her readers to “critically reflect on the borderlines and definitions of normalcy by themselves” (53) in Satsujin Shussan (The Murderous Birth) (2014). Earthlings (2020), a relatively new novel by Murata, also centers on confronting ‘normalcy’, dealing with hardship of fulfilling societal standards. This paper aims to examine how the writer explores social norms, including the definition of ‘normal’ and societal expectations, through the narrative of Earthlings. In this essay, it is argued that Murata explores social norms in her novel through the identity and subjectivity of the protagonist, the portrayal of characters confronting social expectations, and a dystopian ending challenging the existing social structure.
  
  
  

Project Title: 阿彼察邦电影《记忆》的声景政治学：环境音、睡眠抵抗与后殖民批评
Presenter: HE Runfeng, MA in Intercultural Studies
Presentation Time: 5:00pm – 5:30pm
Presentation Language: English

• 本文以泰国导演阿彼察邦·韦拉斯哈古2021年电影《记忆》为研究对象，通过情动理论与声景生态学的交叉视角，揭示环境音在当代第三世界电影中的多重政治意涵。本文提出“声景政治学”分析框架，为全球南方电影研究提供新的方法论路径。本文试图论证以下观点：1）阿彼察邦通过高频化声景转向，将东南亚后殖民经验投射为拉美语境下的神经政治控制；2）触感听觉机制解构了殖民知识生产的语言学基础，构建出基于皮肤感知的抵抗空间；3）睡眠声景的1/f波动特性形成南南国家的生物政治同盟。
  
  
  

Project Title: Navigating Challenges: The Lived Experiences of ‘Dilemma-World Nomads’ within the Couchsurfing Community
Presenter: WONG Ching Ming, MA in Anthropology
Presentation Time: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Presentation Language: English

• Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in March 2022, a new phenomenon has emerged, leading to the displacement of many individuals and giving rise to what I term the ‘Dilemma-World Nomad.’ This study employs ethnographic methods and participant observation to explore the lived experiences of Couchsurfers within the Couchsurfing Community (CSC), particularly focusing on how recent global upheavals have intensified the challenges faced by displaced individuals.

Project Title: The Popularity and Future Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meditation Practices Across Different Religious Beliefs
Presenter: CHAN Tsz Yu, MA in Buddhist Studies

• This study employs various research methods, including literature review, questionnaire survey, and comparative analysis, focusing on the prevalence of AI meditation practices among different religious groups. Through questionnaires, data were collected from hundreds of respondents across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Oceania. By integrating developments in AI within psychotherapy, this research examines the geographical characteristics, acceptance levels, usage frequency, and influencing factors of AI meditation applications among diverse religious groups (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Atheism, Spirituality, Polytheism, and Agnosticism). The aim is to provide theoretical and practical references for the rational development of AI meditation applications in multicultural religious contexts, facilitating more effective dissemination and sustainable development across various faith communities.
  
  
  

Project Title: 敦煌武周时期世族女性佛国世界构建探析 ——以莫高窟331、332窟供养人画像为中心
Presenter: ZHOU Yiru, MA in Buddhist Studies

• 本文以武周时期（690—705）敦煌世家大族家窟中女供养人图像为中心，运用石窟空间分析法和女性主义批判方法，以第331、332窟为立足点，对女供养人图像从其信仰佛教角度进行重新阐释，以期改善目前研究中仅将女供养人图像作为探索唐代社会风貌窗口的现状。本文首先从《李克让修莫高窟佛龛碑》内容入手，从两窟营建过程分析敦煌李氏家族与中央政权的互动关系，厘清331、332窟作为李氏家窟所承载的宗教、政治功能，兼论两窟题记内容，阐述家窟中功德回向机制——以石窟作为物质载体，通过标准化题记书写，将原本祖先祭祀升华为具有神圣性的功德实践，其背后的驱动力是供养者对于公开展示孝道以及积攒功德的需求。其次将石窟中壁画、塑像和供养人等视觉材料视作统一整体，对比第331、332窟女供养人数量、位置、构图、形象异同，在说明其佛教信仰、造窟逻辑具有内在一致性的同时，女供养人与石窟内不同元素互动而产生的微妙视觉感受差异，进而对女性信众所崇尚的信仰模式进行分析。本文结论将明确武周时期女性广泛参与佛事活动背景下，世家大族女供养人的社会角色和社会关系，厘清女供养人与石窟中图像序列互动所呈现的内心活动变化，复原武周时期世族女赞助人在佛教信仰影响下的审美情趣与自我审视。
  
  
  

Project Title: Acquisition of the sentence-final particles laa1 (啦) and laa3 (喇) in Cantonese
Presenter: CHEN Yiting, MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition

• This study aims to examine the acquisition of the two sentence-final particles (SFPs) laa1 (啦) and laa3 (喇) in Cantonese, focusing on the mastery of their semantic properties. Cantonese sentence-final particles are morphemes that occur at the end of a sentence. Laa1 (啦), with a high flat tone (55), often expresses advice, moderates tone, or marks new information; conversely, laa3 (喇), with a middle-flat tone (33), confirms facts or ends topics (Law 1990; Leung 2005). Only a few studies have examined the acquisition of Cantonese sentence-final particles (e.g., Lee and Law 2001; Mou 2008). The current investigation will analyze the usage of the two particles in child speech (produced by preschool children aged between 1;6 and 3;6) as well as in child-directed speech (produced by the caretakers) based on naturalistic corpus data (CANCORP 1996) and will document the developmental patterns associated with the mastery of these two SFPs. Given the rich inventory of SFPs in Cantonese, and that the two particles under investigation differ only minimally in their tones, the study will enrich our understanding of how learners unveil the complexities involved in mastering the SFPs in Cantonese.
  
  
  

Project Title: Sibling Differences in Cantonese Proficiency: A Study of Two-Child Families in Guangdong
Presenters: CHEN Yiting, DUAN Zhuo, and HUANG Jing, MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition

• Research on sibling differences in Cantonese proficiency within two-child families in Guangdong remains limited, despite increasing concerns over dialect transmission in Mandarin-dominant contexts. This study investigates whether second-born children show weaker Cantonese oral skills than their firstborn siblings. Using the Frog Story narration task, we collected spontaneous speech data from Cantonese-speaking sibling pairs. Analyses focused on mean length of utterance (MLU), syntactic complexity, and the use of Cantonese-specific structures. Second-born children produced fewer resultative verb compounds (e.g., ngo wan keoi m dou “I can’t find him”), post-verbal adverbs (e.g., nei zau sin “you go first”), jau-marked experiential aspect (e.g., ngo jau lei gwo “I have come before”), double object constructions (e.g., ngo bei bun syu keoi “I give the book to him”), and A-not-A questions (e.g., keoi zi m zi ngo lei ? “Does he know I came or not?”). The study also considers sociolinguistic factors such as language input, sibling interaction, and family language practices. By highlighting intra-family variation in dialect development, this research fills a gap in the literature on Cantonese maintenance in multilingual settings.
  
  
  

Project Title: Interaction of Chinese Mandarin and Danjiangkou dialect on tone production across different age groups
Presenter: YANG Xinyi, MA in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition

• This study aims to investigate the cross-generational monosyllabic tonal difference in the Danjiangkou dialect. Previous research on the phonetic features of this dialect has presented conflicting conclusions about its tonal values. Such controversy may stem from variations in the age demographics of participants across studies. To address this issue, this research is dedicated to assessing the impact of age on tonal variations in the monosyllabic tones of the Danjiangkou dialect. It also explores whether Mandarin, as an increasingly influential language in the region, interacts with the tones of the Danjiangkou dialect among the same age group.
  The study will employ a methodology that integrates the method of selecting participants from three age groups(elderly, middle-aged, and young)  and the representative methodology widely used by tonal studies called T-value calculation quantitative research method created by Shi Feng. This methodology encompasses the extraction of fundamental frequency(F0), data normalization and tonal contour plotting. The final fifth values will be compared across age groups and between the two languages(dialect and Mandarin) to identify patterns of tonal difference and interaction. The findings are expected to provide evidence of cross-generational tonal shifts and interaction between dialects and Mandarin, contributing to cross-generational studies of tone.
  
  
  

Project Title: Potential of multimodal AI LLMs for creating and understanding Chinese Memes
Presenter: ZHANG Liangyu, MA in English (Applied English Linguistics)

• This study investigates the capabilities of multimodal AI large language models (LLMs) in generating and understanding Chinese memes. It also assesses the quality of AI-generated meme texts compared to human-generated ones and evaluates AI models’ performance in comprehending viral Chinese memes. To explore AI’s ability to generate Chinese memes, this study instructed ChatGPT’s GPT-4o and Kimi’s Moonshot AI to generate 120 memes across various topics including work, school, entertainment, culture, and history. These AI-generated memes were then evaluated by 60 native Chinese-speaking participants in terms of the memes’ funniness, understandability, and appropriateness. Next, to examine AI’s ability to understand Chinese memes, the researcher required GPT-4o and Moonshot AI to analyze 100 human-created memes sourced from popular Chinese platforms. The findings of this study will provide insights into AI’s potential applications in meme creation and analysis, benefiting content creators, marketers, and researchers in the field of Chinese language and culture education.
  
  
  

Project Title: Do Critics Dream of Electric Tools? On Literary Criticism in the 21st Century
Presenter: Roy FONG, MA in English (Literary Studies)

• In the field of literary criticism, distant reading has proved effective in macroanalysis, its computational tools capable of analysing literary corpora at a scope far greater than that could ever be achieved by even the most voracious readers and critics. While it remains irrefutable that distant reading is at least partially realising what Goethe had in mind as Weltliteratur, critics are not always dealing with a large corpus, but more often a small set of texts or even just one single text. Considering that close reading still foregrounds and maps the terrain on which computational literary analysis is conducted, what happens when an interpretive dissonance occurs between the two? I propose that there exists a hierarchy in literary criticism, one that, despite the advent of digital humanities, still prioritises intuitiveness and subjectivity in our reading experience. It would be interesting to see if there’re reasons as to why we do that (perhaps rightly so?). Does the lopsided grounding of our literary criticism equate to a close-mindedness that only listens to what it desires and rejects findings that prove otherwise? More importantly, how should literary criticism continue to develop in the contemporary world?
  
  
  

Project Title: Are You Willing to Bear My Child?–Comparative Study between The Handmaid’s Tale and Bloodchild
Presenter: LI Yang, MA in English (Literary Studies)

• The research is conducted through comparing two SF works: The Handmaid’s Tale and Bloodchild. They both explore the process of reproduction but differ in aspects of gender and species. By comparison, after drawing similarities and differences between them, a clear role that gender plays in reproduction can be understood, which provides a further discussion about how to address reproduction individually in the reality. Though the research includes detailed textual evidence, the presentation will focus on the more direct picturesque way to show the process as well as the conclusion. The researcher also wants to ignite discussion after the presentation, which will in turn enhance the research itself, making this literary one more realistic.
  
  
  

Project Title: From Foundations to Fractures: Robinson Crusoe in Postmodern Revisions
Presenter: QIU Yueli, MA in English (Literary Studies)

• This essay analyzes Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe as a seminal work of literary realism, emphasizing its linear narrative, empirical detail, and chronological structure to construct a cohesive representation of 18th-century colonial ideology. Juxtaposing Defoe’s text with J.M. Coetzee’s Foe, the study contrasts Crusoe’s authoritative first-person account—rooted in Enlightenment rationalism and imperial ambition—with Coetzee’s fragmented, polyphonic narrative, which interrogates the silences and exclusions inherent in traditional storytelling. While Crusoe employs meticulous descriptions of labor, time, and space to naturalize colonial hierarchies, Foe destabilizes these conventions by foregrounding marginalized perspectives and exposing the constructed nature of narrative “truth.” Through this dialogue, the essay demonstrates how realism’s claims to objectivity are shaped by historical power dynamics, while postmodern revisions dismantle monolithic narratives to interrogate representation, agency, and linguistic limitations. The analysis ultimately traces a critical evolution from Defoe’s foundational realism to postmodernism’s ethical critique of literary authority.
  
  
  

Project Title: Unwavering dreams of a better life? An examination of the creation of new localities by real estate advertisements of Hong Kong
Presenter: LAU Ching Yan and CHEUNG Ho Ching Sally, MA in Intercultural Studies

• Homeownership represents more than merely owning a residence. Embedded within a financialized real estate market, it also embodies hopes for upward social mobility. Studies of pre-2010s real estate advertisements in Hong Kong have highlighted the luxurious lifestyles tied to homeownership. Yet, recent analyses are scarce, leaving the growing social inequality and diminished perceptions of social mobility through homeownership unaddressed.
  This paper explores how advertising strategies have adapted to this changing social reality. Analyzing advertisements of three real estate properties from the past decade has revealed strategies including representing space through unrealistic portrayals of luxury, manipulation of scale, and abstract symbolism. These tactics create representations of space that detach properties from the spatial practices of their unremarkable locations, transforming them into aspirational sites for luxury living.
  These advertising trends illuminate the evolving culture of homeownership in Hong Kong and the creation of new localities in the process, which sustain the real estate market despite shifting social dynamics.
  
  
  

Project Title: 柯達時令相機廣告：日常攝影与中國視覺現代性
Presenter: WANG Ziyan, MA in Intercultural Studies

• 20世紀二三十年代，美國柯達公司的廣告大量出現在中國報刊上，廣告將攝影器械推銷至中國市場的同時，也將日常生活化的攝影習慣推銷至中國近代視覺文化中。本文以1925年柯達系列時令廣告為主要文本，基於克拉裡《觀察者的技術》所提出的視覺現代性概念框架，討論文本中的日常攝影文化如何將視覺從觀看客體、觀看主體中分離，成為一種純粹的視覺幻象，以及此種現代性視覺，如何成為當代圖像文化和視覺權力關係的基礎。
  
  
  

Project Title: Development of punctuality during the Meiji Period
Presenter: LAW Kai Yui, MA in Japanese Studies

• Punctuality is one of the hallmarks of modern Japanese culture. From business activities to train services, Japanese people uphold the principles of “Jikan genshu” (strict adherence to time) and “5-Fun mae kōdō” (5-minute early take action), always keeping in mind the importance of being  on time. However, was the concept of punctuality being valued back to the Edo period?
  The Meiji Period in Japan (1868-1912) was known for its profound changes, including introduction of new technologies, adoption of a new political system, and reform of its social system. This era of rapid modernization was initiated by the Meiji Restoration, as the nation opened up to the West.  Amongst the many Western concepts adopted, punctuality had became a core value of the Japanese society starting from the Meiji period. This paper illustrates the main factors for the rise of punctuality in Meiji Japan, including adoption of Western timekeeping practice, development of  railway systems, introduction of scientific time management, and provision of public education.
  
  
  

Project Title: The Role of Individual Category Learning Ability on Speech-to-Song Illusion Perception
Presenter: LI Xuanlin, MA in Linguistics

• The auditory categorization between speech and song is crucial for the processing of different auditory resources, and the speech-to-song illusion shows that the spoken sentences can be perceived as song after several repetitions. By studying this illusion, the detailed mechanism of auditory processing can be explored further, but the relationship between individual language category learning ability and speech-to-song illusion is still unclear, and the influence of lexical tone on the illusion is still an open question. To investigate further the factors of speech-to-song illusion, two research questions are raised: first, for the speech-to-song illusion in non-native languages, whether the contrast between tonal and non-tonal language affect the illusion strength? Second, whether the second language learning ability influences the undergone perception as an individual factor? In order to answer the two research questions, the musicality rating experiment is used to test the speech-to-song illusion effect, and the category learning experiment is conducted to study the learning outcome of the same group of participants. The study can contribute to the exploration of language category learning ability, and contribute to the better explanation of the nature of auditory mechanism of human beings.
  
  
  

Project Title: 比較分析Al Jazeera與BBC對「哈馬斯軍政府釋放以色列被扣押人質」的新聞兩則 ————「多層權力結構」影響下西方主流價值觀媒體的慣性敘事與中東本土媒體的人道主義敘事傾向比較分析
Presenter: FU Yixin, MA in Religious Studies

• This article will conduct a comparative analysis of the inertial narrative of the Western mainstream values media BBC and the humanitarian narrative tendency of the Middle Eastern local media Al Jazeera under the influence of the “multi-layered power structure”. Affected by multiple factors such as political agendas, capital control, and audience preferences, the complex power structure constructed by many factors leads Western media to continue the inertial narrative of “Western mainstream values”, and the news politics presents the characteristics of “geopolitical narrative”. In contrast, the local media Al Jazeera shows a tendency towards humanitarian narrative. This article will conduct a comparative analysis of the two media based on the real-time news reports of the recent Israel-Palestine conflict. In the interpretation of news texts, it will focus on the comparative analysis of “keyword frequency”, “metaphor” and “source weight” in the news. In the analysis of discourse power, it will further analyze the power structure behind the news reports by combining Edward Said’s “Orientalism” and Gayatri Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak”.
  
  
  

Project Title: Study of Skopos Theory for C-E Subtitle Translation through “The Lyricist Wannabe”
Presenter: TSANG Hiu Ying Jacqueline, MA in Translation

• Thanks to the significant contributions of professionals and talents, Hong Kong films have influenced the country, Asia, and even the world. The films showcase Hong Kong’s culture from different perspectives that enhance both local and non-local people’s interest in Hong Kong. “”The
  Lyricist Wannabe”” is a local drama film directed by Norris Wong who shares her story of pursuing her dream of being a lyricist despite chapters of obstacles. When she learned to write lyrics, she had many questions about basic techniques such as harmonizing and rhyming. Mistakes in Cantonese lyrics make jokes when the lyrics are not harmonizing. Moreover, she argued with her friends and family about her dream. Their conversations express many Hong Kong terms and idioms.
  To let foreigners understand the story, Hong Kong films are usually supported with English subtitles. “”The Lyricist Wannabe”” discusses Cantonese lyrics, together with culture-specific expressions that seem challenging to translate. Yet, according to Skopos theory, translation strategies are determined by the primary principle of purposeful action. The same applies to subtitle translation. The presentation will analyze the subtitle translation of the film with Skopos theory.