Over 60 local delegates and 30 overseas delegates from six different regions gathered at CityU from 1-5 December to attend the Asian Students Conference, under the theme "Generation-in-Transition" This is the first time local university students have organized such a conference.

"As the future generation of this new century, young people will face lots of challenges. This is a good opportunity for them to express their own viewpoints and to think about the inter-relationship between technology, environment and humans in the 21st century," said President H K Chang at the opening ceremony. Mr Fatrick Lo, President of CityU's Students' Union, encouraged all the young people to be more attentive to what's going on around them and to find out how they can contribute to society. "We are heading towards a New Asia, and what we need to do is to understand and respect the cultures of other countries, to create a better future together," urged Mr Lo.

Student representatives from the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Macau and Hong Kong discussed various pertinent topics, including the development of the Internet, the moral issues posed by genetic engineering, environmental problems and conservation, and gender issues. It is expected that the conference will result in the setting up of a network of regional universities and colleges, bringing further co-operation and exchange between students.

"I'm excited to have taken part in this conference because it meant I learned more about the culture of different Asian countries. I also found Hong Kong students to be very friendly and always taking the initiative to help other people," said Mr Peh Seng Giap, a delegate from the Singapore Nanyang Technological University. Mr Long Wong, Secretary-in-Chief of the Conference Secretariat, said he had learned a lot from organizing this international event and was impressed to find that university students from different regions had a common vision of focusing their efforts on the betterment of society.