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Mr. Jimmy Liao, a world renowned picture book author, came to The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) today (10 January) as the guest speaker for the Shun Hing Lecture in Arts and Humanities co-organized by CUHK and Shun Hing Group.  Jimmy spoke on the topic ‘Creation through illustration; my passion’, attracting about 1,500 CUHK staff and students, alumni, secondary school students and members of the public.  The University also arranged live webcast in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) for the public.  After his lecture, Jimmy took questions from the floor and had a fruitful interaction with the audience.  A book signing session was also held for Jimmy to meet Hong Kong readers up close. 

Jimmy Liao graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan.  He published his first two books Secrets in the Woods and A Fish that Smiled at Me in 1998.  Including popular works such as Turn Left Turn Right, The Moon Forgets, and The Sound of Colors, Jimmy has published many illustrated books of amazing originality and with multi-faceted narratives.  He has set a fashion in creating and publishing illustrated books in local and international markets.  It is also worth mentioning that Jimmy’s works have been transformed for various settings – theme music albums, TV series, stage presentation, film adaptation and other styles.  Academia and media have used the ‘Jimmy phenomenon’ as a topic of analysis and review on many occasions.  In 2003, Jimmy was selected by Studio Voice magazine as one of Asia’s Top 55 Most Creative Personalities.  In 2007, Discovery Channel selected Jimmy as one of the six outstanding figures in ‘PortraitsTaiwan 2’. 

Utilizing images as a refreshing form of literary language, Jimmy creates his works in poetic frames that emit charm and appeal.  More than ten million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.  Recently, Jimmy has been working with international publishing houses, such as Walker Books in England and Little, Brown and Company in the United States.  The Monster Who Ate Darkness was his first picture-book for children in English, for which he collaborated with British author, Joyce Dunbar in 2008.  On another book, I Can Be Anything!, which was published in 2010 in the US, he collaborated with American author Jerry Spinelli.  In 2011, Jimmy published his third children’s book in English, The World Champion of Staying Awake.  In 2013, he published the forty-fourth and forty-fifth books in Chinese, Lie to Me? And Bubble Bubble. 

Following Jimmy’s lecture, renowned actress, scriptwriter and director Ms. Sylvia Chang has been invited as the guest speaker for the next lecture of the series.  Details are to be announced.  Previous lectures of the series by Confucianism scholar Prof. Tu Weiming, sculptor Prof. Wu Weishan and composer Dr. Lam Bun-ching were successfully held. Interested parties can review the lecture at the CUTV website: www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/cutv/category/21. 

About Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities 

To mark the 60^th anniversary of the Shun Hing Group and the 50^th anniversary of CUHK, The Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities was established in 2013 with a generous donation from the Shun Hing Group.  The lecture series aims at promoting cultural knowledge and scholarly pursuits in the arts and humanities.  Distinguished scholars from four major areas, Music, Drama and Film, Literature and Art, as well as Philosophy and Thinking, have been invited to give public lectures. 

Since its establishment, CUHK has committed itself as much to teaching and academic research as to upholding the humanistic spirit.  Through a wide selection of programmes on offer in general education, exchange and social services programmes, as well as different kinds of lectures and conferences.  CUHK strives to encourage students and the public to improve their humanistic quality by thinking critically and appreciating different cultures and philosophies.  The Shun Hing Lecture Series in Arts and Humanities launched by CUHK and the Shun Hing Group aims to inspire participants to understand and appreciate the art of living, to review their current state and explore the prospects, so that they become all-round global citizens with a strong sense of social responsibility and a heart to serve. 

The Shun Hing Group has been a staunch supporter of CUHK since the 1960’s.  Over the years, major donations have been received to finance scholarships, exchange and training programmes at the University, as well as the Internet-based Robotics Inter-School Competition to nurture diverse and creative talents.  Thanks to the generous support of Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund, Chair Professorship of Mathematics was set up at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences; various laboratories, Shun Hing Institute of Advanced Engineering, and William Mong Eye Centre of Tsinghua University & CUHK were also established for engineering and medical developments. 

About Shun Hing Group

Established in 1953, the Shun Hing Group is the sole agent for Panasonic products in Hong Kong and Macau manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (now known as Panasonic Corporation).  Over the past 60 years, the Group has remained a firm Hong Kong market leader in their field.  In addition to serving as sole agent for home appliances, audio-visual products, telecommunications systems, business equipment and office furniture, the Shun Hing Group is also involved in engineering, contracting and electrical appliance servicing.  Logistics, advertising production, system installation and maintenance, as well as property investment and management in China are among the Group’s other core activities. 

True to the spirit of give and take, the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund was established in 1984.  The Fund has donated approximately HK$1,000 million towards projects in Hong Kong and China that benefit education, healthcare, recreation, sports and environmental protection over the years.

For more photos, please visit:
https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/events_recap_detail.php?1=1&id=161&s=