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The Central Policy Unit (CPU) and the Centre for Applied Social and Economic Research of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology today (December 16) held the "International Conference on Social Inequality and Mobility in Chinese Societies: Towards a Comparative Study" at the Central Government Offices at Tamar. The conference discussed, against the backdrop of increasing social inequality in the global context, the state of social inequality in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It also addressed the underlying causes, impact and the recommended policy responses.
The Head of the CPU, Professor Lau Siu-kai, delivered the welcoming remarks. More than 30 experts and scholars shared their latest research findings. Professor Timothy Smeeding from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Professor Xie Yu from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, delivered the keynote speeches on inequality and social mobility in advanced countries and in Chinese societies respectively.
The conference also included comparative analysis and panel discussions in six areas, namely economic and social mobility; higher education; inequality, poverty and redistribution; social science research, inequality and public policy; educational inequality; and globalisation, migration and other mechanisms of inequality.
About 150 participants attended the conference, including business people, professionals, scholars, officials and representatives from non-government organisations and think tanks.
Ends/Friday, December 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:02
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