HKU Law Begins 2020/21 with $12 Million in New Competitive Research Funding

Congratulations to our 8 colleagues who were successful in their research funding applications this year in competitive exercises conducted by external funding bodies.

RGC Senior Research Fellowship 2020/21

Professor Douglas Arner was awarded an inaugural RGC Senior Research Fellowship by the Research Grants Council.  This fellowship in the amount of $7,798,380 enables Professor Arner to deepen his research on "Digital Finance, Financial Inclusion and Sustainability: Building Better Financial Systems" over the next five years.  This fellowship builds on the RGC Research Impact Fund award Professor Arner obtained in the 2018/19 exercise.

Public Policy Research Funding Scheme 2020/21

Ms Amanda Whitfort was awarded a Public Policy Research (PPR) grant from the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office in the amount of $462,019.  She will conduct "An Empirical Study of the Nature of Animal Abuse Cases in Hong Kong from 2013-2019" over the next 12 months.  Ms Whitfort's 2008 PPR project, "Review of animal welfare legislation in Hong Kong", produced an influential policy report that improved the welfare of pets and animals in Hong Kong by triggering impactful legislative and policy reforms.

RGC General Research Fund 2020/21

Six colleagues were awarded General Research Fund (GRF) grants by the Research Grants Council in the 2020/21 round. The GRF success rate was 40%, compared to last year's 31%. The projects cover a range of legal topics of importance to Hong Kong, China and beyond. The details of the new funded projects are as follows:

Dr Clement Chen, Accountability in Algorithm-assisted Sanctions: Public Law Scrutiny of China’s Social Credit System, $705,920

Prof Frank He Xin, The Personal Safety Protection Order against Domestic Violence in China, $924,000

Prof Lusina Ho, A Comprehensive Examination of Judicial Practice on the Chinese Trust Law, $650,064

Ms Rebecca Lee, Rebuilding Trust and Legitimacy for Charities in Hong Kong, $375,000

Dr Michael Ng, Liberating Hong Kong: The awakening of freedom of expression and the rule of law in British Hong Kong (1978-1997), $591,400

Dr Marco Wan, The Construction of Sexual Minority Identities in Legal and Political Discourse in Hong Kong, $585,080