Ms. Christine Loh is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, and the Founder of Civic Exchange, a non-governmental organization. She was a popular politician but decided not to run again for re-election to the legislature of Hong Kong last year. She now heads Civic Exchange in Hong Kong. She is one of the most insightful commentators on Hong Kong affairs.

Christine will speak on "Hong Kong: Its Contribution to 'One Country'."

A brief biographical sketch of Christine's is enclosed:

"Thinking gets better when we think often. Thinking is fun because it creates new possibilities in the way we live our lives, Research helps to drive thinking. Thinking in groups helps leverage our collective intelligence and can lead to breakthroughs. I want the Civic Exchange to produce pragmatic solutions to public policy problems. I also want to be able to synthesize and publicize other people's good ideas."

Education

• University of Hull, England
• Bachelor of Law City University of Hong Kong
• Masters of Law in Chinese & Comparative Law

Awards

• Outstanding Young Persons Award 1988 Stars of Asia, Business Week 1998
• Stars of Asia, Business Week 2000

Affiliations

• Chairperson, Friends of the Earth (HK) - 1988-1990- and 1990-1992.
• Board of Directors, Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado, USA, 1998-2001
• Council Member - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1999-2002

Experience

Christine Loh is well known for her wide-ranging intellect and ability to find practical solutions to problems. Her background in law, business, politics, media and the non-profit sector has given her considerable knowledge and insight about how they work and has helped her to become a leading voice in public policy in Hong Kong.

Loh has authored numerous papers, articles and public policy recommendations in a large number of local and international publications. The Economist described her in April 2000 as "perhaps LegCo's most gifted member". Business Week named her in 1998 and again in 2000 as one of Asia's Stars. Trained as a lawyer, Loh did not practise law but enjoyed a highly successful 12-year career with a multinational as a commodities trader from 1980-1991, rising to the position of managing director, before spending another 2 years as a director of business development with a Hong Kong company, responsible for putting together the LoFt retail stores, and an international consortium to bid for Container Terminal No. 9.

Appointed to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 1992, running in two elections subsequently, Loh had a popular career as a politician until 2000 when she chose not to seek re-election. Her legislative successes were many, the most high profile being amending the law to enable the indigenous women of the New Territories to inherit rural land, restructuring the controversial section 30 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, and sponsoring the historic Protection of the Harbor Ordinance.

From 1991, Loh has anchored public affairs radio programs at various times. She has also presented a variety of TV programs apart from being the subject of many more. She is a much sought after public speaker. With Lisa Hopkinson she founded Civic Exchange in September 2000. Loh is responsible for charting the Civic Exchange's long-term course.

Messrs. Baba and Gemba have studied how industrial products need many parts and materials. For example, an automobile consists of three million parts. Supporting Industries (SI) supply various components and materials for the manufacturing of industrial products.Previous studies suggested that SI was important for industrial linkage, trade balance and research and development. However, no one showed quantitative analysis for SI very well. Messrs. Baba and Gemba measured the level of SI by using an output-input table. As a result, they found that Korean SI has become less dependent on Japanese SI while ASEAN's SI still depends on Japanese SI. Messrs. Baba and Gemba will discuss their research findings and their conclusion that local automobile parts suppliers in Indonesia need to improve client approval functions urgently in order to survive in the industry.

Lunch will be served at this special event. Please RSVP to Neeley Main by 10am on July 5, 2001 to secure your place. In addition to his post at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Liu is Research Director of Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research, the Director of the Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific Economics Reseach Programme, and the Secretary-General of the East Asian Economic Association.

In August 1997, after financial crisis had broken out in Thailand, Japanese officials proposed the establishment of an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF). The proposal encountered a number of obstacles, the most formidable of which was opposition by the United States and the IMF. Consequently, Japanese officials aborted the initiative. However, the notion of an AMF resurfaced in a variety of forms thereafter,. Most recently, a network of bilateral currency swap arrangements has begun to emerge among the ASEAN + 3 nations under the auspices of the May 2000 Chiang Mai Initiative. This talk will examine the political dynamics surrounding the Japanese Government's initial proposal for the creation of an AMF in 1997, and the arrangements that have emerged in its place. In doing so, the talk will attempt to draw out the significance of the AMF idea, its institutional evolution for the U.S.-Japan bilateral relationship, and for U.S. and Japanese roles in multilateral financial institutions today.

While Asia and Europe's bilateral links with the United States are deep, ties between Europe and Asia need to be strengthened. In the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis and Europe's focus on issues closer to home (European single currency and the enlargement process), is the building of a new Asia-Europe partnership a priority for the European Union? Can the Asian economic crisis serve as a window of opportunity for closer and lasting economic cooperation between Asia and Europe? How can Europe assist in the implementation of economic reform programs and the process of market liberalization? What is the future of enhanced EU-Asia political cooperation in the areas of the environment, crime and drugs, terrorism, and human rights? How can Europe and Asia best pursue their common interests in arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation? Professor Rinsche has had a distinguished career in German and European politics spanning more than three decades: as a member of the German Parliament (1965-1972) and a member of the European Parliament for twenty years (1979-1999). He was president of the EP-Delegation for ASEAN, South-East Asia, and South Korea (1979-1999), and chairman of the CDU/CSU-Group from 1989-1999. He is currently president of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a German political foundation promoting civic education in Germany and democracy and development abroad. Professor Rinsche will have just returned from an extended trip to South-East Asia and China and will share his recent insights in the current situation in that region.

Starting his career with India Today in 1992, Bahal moved to the science and environment magazine Down To Earth, followed by the Financial Express. He was part of the original team that launched Outlook magazine in 1995 and has reported on a range of subjects from environment to travel, sports and defence. He is best-known, though, for his groundbreaking investigation on match-fixing which rocked international cricket. Please RSVP to Rafael Ulate by June 6, 2001.