Sino-US relations took center stage on February 21, 2023, as Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK) was thrilled to host Asia Society Global President and CEO, Dr. Kevin Rudd AC, for the most successful Gala Dinner in ASHK history, and the first in-person Gala since 2018.

Dr. Rudd kicked off his visit by conducting a dialogue entirely in Putonghua with over 360 secondary and university students representing 17 diverse local and international schools. The students were enthralled by the story of Dr. Rudd’s lifelong engagement with China and his dedication to studying Chinese language and culture, including his recent experience earning a PhD from Oxford on Xi Jinping’s political ideology. Moderated by ASHK Executive Director S. Alice Mong, much of the discussion focused on the state of Sino-US relations and the prospects for overcoming current tensions, as well as Hong Kong’s role in current geopolitics.

At a glamorous VIP reception on ASHK's gorgeous (and chilly!) rooftop, Dr. Rudd and ASHK Chairman Ronnie Chan welcomed a bevy of ASHK’s generous patrons, as well as nearly the entire slate of ASHK Trustees. Representatives of Asia Society Japan and Asia Society France were also in attendance, eagerly taking advantage of the opportunity to visit the beautiful ASHK campus after three years of closed borders.

The dinner was an event to remember! With over 700 guests, ASHK tested the capacity of the Conrad Hotel Hong Kong’s Grand Ballroom. After a four-course meal, Dr. Rudd presented his views on US-China relations in 2023, including his hopes that the relationship between these two great powers can be navigated and stabilized through a rubric of managed strategic competition. In the lengthy and fascinating dialogue that followed, with Ronnie Chan acting as moderator, Dr. Rudd discussed current geopolitics with the audience of distinguished attendees from Hong Kong’s diverse business, finance, NGO, and academic communities. The most important guests in attendance may have been the over 100 students and educators from local secondary schools and universities who posed some of the most interesting questions of the night.

As Dr. Rudd takes up his new post as Australian Ambassador to the United States, ASHK wishes him all the best, along with our hopes that he returns to Hong Kong soon to impart more of his valuable wisdom!

At the Gala, we welcomed over 100 students and educators from the following institutions:

Local Secondary Schools
Buddhist Tai Hung College 佛教大雄中學
Diocesan Girls' School 拔萃女書院
Kowloon True Light School 九龍真光中學
Marymount Secondary School 瑪利曼中學
PLK Tin Ka Ping Primary School 保良局田家炳小學
Po Kok Primary School 寶覺小學
Pui Kiu Primary School 培僑小學
Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School 天主教慈幼會伍少梅中學
SKH Saint Mary's Church Mok Hing Yiu College 聖公會聖馬利亞堂莫慶堯中學
St Stephen’s College Preparatory School 聖士提反書院附屬小學
Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School 仁濟醫院王華湘中學

Universities
The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學
The City University of Hong Kong 香港城市大學
The Education University of Hong Kong 香港教育大學
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 香港科技大學
Lingnan University 嶺南大學
The University of Hong Kong 香港大學

During the Student Dialogue in Putonghua in the afternoon of February 21, we were delighted to have the participation of over 360 students from the following educational institutions:

Local Secondary Schools
Buddhist Tai Hung College 佛教大雄中學
Diocesan Girls' School 拔萃女書院
Harrow International School Hong Kong 哈羅香港國際學校
HKTA The Yuen Yuen Institute No.3 Secondary School 香港道教聯合會圓玄學院第三中學
Ning Po No.2 College 寧波第二中學
S.K.H. St. Mary's Church Mok Hing Yiu College 聖公會聖馬利亞堂莫慶堯中學
Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School 天主教慈幼會伍少梅中學
St. Paul's Co-educational College 聖保羅男女中學
T.W.G.Hs. Kap Yan Directors' College 東華三院甲寅年總理中學
Wah Yan College, Hong Kong 香港華仁書院

Universities
The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學
The City University of Hong Kong 香港城市大學
Hong Kong Baptist University 香港浸會大學
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 香港科技大學
The University of Hong Kong 香港大學