>Subject: SOS!!! HUST has been kicked off from national leading University >From: "Albert Ye" >Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 04:13:33 +0800 Dear Dr. CAI and Dr. Ye, Please circulate the following message among HUST alumni. Thank you very much. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear HUST Alumni, As one of top-rated leading university in China, HUST has not been selected to be one of the top nine national university league of China, and more outrageously, HUST even can not make it within the top 21 leading univeristies. Which means HUST will not secure financial and other resources from governments, and in this way HUST will definitely deterioate into the second tier or even third tier university in very short time frame. HUST is widerly considered to be the political victim of the so-called higher education reform which is featuring large-scale mergers of universities (HUST declined to be mergered into Wuhan University). The Alumni of HUST certainly concerns the future of our alma mater and we must do something to support HUST to survive the crisis. A lobbying group in the North America is strongly suggested to be formed to make HUST's case to the highest level of Chinese government (The classification of universities is said not exactly to be determined by merits but single-mindedly determined by the vice-priemier Li Lanqing). Your suggestions and help are desperately needed!!! Please feedback your comments and suggestions to: Mr. Ye, Xuezhong, Shenzhen, China, e-mail: sztsaint@public.szptt.net.cn Dr. Zhong, Hong Kong, e-mail: fzhong@ctimail.com Yours Sincerely, Ye Xuezhong >Subject: Re: SOS!!! HUST has been kicked off from national leading > University League!!! >Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 09:06:23 +0800 (HKT) >From: LIU Liming I would like to add a bit more on this, partially to clarify a few points. Yes, HUST could not make to the top 9. According to my conversation with some key people at HUST and others, there is nothing anyone can do about this. On the other hand, the so called top 21 is more symbolic. There is no direct financial implication. The presidents of the 21 universities will be given the rank of vice provincial governor, that is all. The ministry of education is really on HUST's side. Partially under their insistence, Hubei agreed to joint with MOE to support Wuhan U and HUST as key universities (at much lower intensity than those of the top 9, MOE will give 300m and the local goverment match this amount. The top 9 get at least twice this amount). The current round of changes in higher education is very much driven by Li Nanqin personnelly. Unless one can change his idea or find someone more powerful than him as a strong supporter, there is little that we can lobby about. On the bright side, HUST was rank second in the latest round of science and technology progress awards at MOE (Tsinghua is 1st, but HUST gets 6 1st prizes while Tsinghua gets 3). HUST's weakness is in academic quality. If every one of us (working in acamedics abroad) can jointly publish one paper on a international journal with a HUST faculty, say in the next 3 years, we will do HUST a big service. Best, Liming HK U of Sci. and Tech.