19 November 2025 

HSUHK convened more than 20 leading scholars from Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan for a landmark two-day symposium entitled “Challenges and Opportunities in Public Governance” seminar, co-hosted by the Department of Social Science, Centre for Public Policy Research and Graduate School on 18 and 19 November 2025. The event served as a dynamic platform for examining some of the most urgent issues facing societies — digital transformation, population aging, post-pandemic recovery, and the rise of artificial intelligence — while forging innovative and resilient pathways forward for public governance.

The first day of the symposium centred on an in-depth discussion on the characteristics and prospects of China’s governance model. Professor Yu Xunda from Zhejiang University opened the discourse with a profound analysis that set the intellectual tone, followed by a comparative exploration of societal aging in East Asia presented by Professor Joshua Mok, Provost and Vice-President (Academic and Research) of HSUHK. Subsequent sessions featured Professor He Jingwei from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, who distilled critical lessons from the recent health crisis, and Professor Yeh Kuang-shih from Chung Hua University, who illuminated the dynamics of effective public-private partnerships.

A highlight of the second day was a keynote address delivered by Professor Zhu Xufeng, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University. Speaking on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, Professor Zhu urged the audience to reimagine the very foundations of public administration in an era of rapid technological change.

A roundtable discussion on “Greater Bay Area Development and its Governance Needs”, chaired by Professor Mok, brought together Professor Cheung Bing-leung from The Education University of Hong Kong; Professor Ng Tak-wing from the University of Macao; and Dr Wu Junfei, leader of the Bauhinia Party. The panellists offered sharp insights into the institutional innovations and governance challenges that accompany the Greater Bay Area’s accelerating integration.