About the Talk Dr. ZHU has been reading for many years about the history and culture of Jewish people. It is an interest that he developed while living in Canada and first meeting and getting to know Jewish people. He likes to ponder what he sees as similarities and differences between Jewish and Chinese cultures, especially in regard to family values, educational achievement, preserving traditions, and civic responsibility (repairing the world).Among the books he discussed were: The Jewish Century by Yuri SlezkineJewish literacy : the most important things to know about the Jewish religion, its people, and its history by Joseph Telushkin Empires of the Word by Nicholas Ostler  About the SpeakerDr. Zhu Lijing brings an interesting mixture of education and career background to both his work and his reading. Born and reared in Mainland China, he studied International Relations at Beijing University (1978-80) before moving overseas in 1980 and studying American History at Carleton University and University of London. Finding a home-from-home in Canada, he settled in at the University of Western Ontario, where he received his B.A. and M.A., in addition to his PhD in Economics (1991). After teaching economics at University of Windsor, he returned to Asia, where he taught economics for several years at HKUST, the National University of Singapore, and at HKU.For the past 10 years, Dr. Zhu has worked in an administrative capacity at HKUST: first recruiting non-local UG students and then providing advice and support to both PG and UG students from the Mainland. Since 2005, Dr. Zhu has served as Chairman, Vice Chairman (Internal Affairs), and EXCO Member of the HKUST Staff Association; was a a Member of HKUST Court for six years (2005-2011) and as a member of the HKUST Council (2009-2012). He is currently an Associate Director for Student Life in the Student Affairs Office (SAO).Experiencing different cultures and sub-cultures in a variety of social, institutional, and professional contexts has sparked Dr. Zhus interest in reading about them on his own. He is fascinated by considering similarities and differences between different cultures, and wishes to share this joy with others.For enquiry, please contact Victoria Caplan at 2358-6756.