Mission

Established in 1990, the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies (HKIAPS) aims to promote multi-disciplinary research on social, economic and political development. HKIAPS is devoted to fostering academic exchange by organizing regular public lectures, seminars and international conferences. The Institute also disseminates research findings to the public through the publication of research monographs and occasional papers.

Objectives

The objectives of the HKIAPS are:

• To develop the CUHK into a research and academic centre of excellence in the interrelated study of Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Asia-Pacific region;
• To enable Hong Kong to better adjust to and make best use of the changes taking place in China and the Asia-Pacific region;
• To serve as a “think-tank” for the Hong Kong government, the Chinese government, and policymakers in public and private sectors;
• To broaden the intellectual horizon of the policymakers and to develop policy alternatives for the community.

Strategic Research Plan

HKIAPS Strategic Research Plan (“The Plan”) lays out the direction of HKIAPS in its next phase of development. HKIAPS has established our reputation as knowledge hub of social science research in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. To align with CUHK strategic research areas as introduced in “CUHK 2025”, the Plan is introduced to help focus attention and resources.

Sustainability as Research Focus

HKIAPS aims to provide a transdisciplinary platform for interdisciplinary and innovative research related activities. Sustainability is the new research direction which can be developed in all disciplines. The goal of sustainable development is to strike a balance between the needs of the environment, health society and economy in order to maintain a quality standard of life for both present and future generations. Some key research themes are addressed under the direction.

Expand the Scope of China Studies Research

In recent years, sustainable development in mainland China has become major research topics. Belt and Road Initiative and the Grater Bay Area are launched to advocate regional growth. Since HKIAPS establishment, China studies has been pillar research area of various Centre/Programmes. For example, the Chinese law and legal institutions development, environmental, social, and governance, urban planning and smart cities. Multi-disciplinary research projects can be fostered via Global China Research Programme, which HKIAPS serve as secretariat. To keep up with the pace and expanding scale of China’s links to the rest of the world, HKIAPS continues to explore innovation sustainability-themes projects.

Innovative Methodologies to Enhance Social Survey

Understanding public opinion accurately is key to social sustainability. By applying computational techniques to large-scale data from social media, dynamic networks, real-time digitised and administrative records, and social simulations. The potential of AI and big data in contributing to conduct survey and sustainability research is immense. HKIAPS aims to develop compatible survey app to conduct opinion polls on issues of public interest and releases the results to the public to serve as a bridge linking the University and the public.

Pave the Way for Youth Development

Social sustainability lies in youth development. Stakeholders in society seek more way to measure and evaluate mental well-being of youth. When policy makers are facing the challenging task of formulating public policies to cope with the changing youth scene in Hong Kong, HKIAPS strives to serve the society as a platform to disseminate knowledge and research data for public policy making and evaluation, and to offer answers to various youth issues, from political participation to social policy related to youth.