THE reports a centre known as the “Mecca for China studies” will be closed, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) confirmed after speculation about the fate of the archive and the resignation of one of its co-directors. However, its materials will be preserved and many posted online after a restructuring.
CUHK’s Universities Service Centre for China Studies (USC), established in 1963, houses an invaluable collection documenting the country’s political evolution, including 80,000 books and thousands of rare newspapers, magazines and local village records. Many materials were brought over a land border that, at that time, separated Mao-ruled China and the British colony of Hong Kong.
As the physical centre closes, USC’s materials will be preserved and integrated into the university’s library system over an 18-month restructuring. Many documents will be digitised into a text-searchable format and uploaded to an open-access website.
Photo/Image Credit:
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.