Our First Work Day in China

This morning we started the real purpose of the trip - the educational lectures and discussions. We began with the mandatory visit to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's health clinic to have our temperature taken and to receive our masks. The swine flu threat is being taken very seriously. We all passed through with no fevers!

The first event for the day was the opening ceremony. Kate and I were seated at a front table with two individuals from the University and we all made opening remarks.

The first lecture was from Cheung, Kai Chee, Associate Professor, Department of Management and Marketing. He spoke on the Structure and the Role of the Hksar Government. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was passionate about the subject. He is Chinese and originally "swam" to Hong Kong (many years ago).

We had another delicious lunch. This was held at the University in a

private restaurant. There were at least 15 dishes of food served.

What a wonderful selection.

In the afternoon we visited the House of Innovation on the campus.

The University has many innovative departments working on everything from new fabrics to cures for cancer. The center had many great displays and we learned so many things about the University.

The last stop for today was at Li & Fung. Chang, Ka Mun, Managing director, spoke on Regional Developments of Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta and their implications. Once he warmed up, his passion for the subject was fun and informative.

Mr. Chang also took us on a tour of the research department. It was closer to a think tank. Each room is set up with a product theme and look more like a store. As an example, they had "stores" like Dusney, Toys'R us, and Avon just to mention a few. The rooms were totally decorated with products made for that company. In addition there was a table and chairs in the room for the team to use. It was fascinating.

The following photos were taken yesterday during the harbor tour.

This was another wonderful day! Cheryl