Newsletter No. 89

CUHK Newsletter No. 89 19th May 1996 3 'Home is where I am at any time. As m y husband say s to me, it's wher e he is an d where som e o f m y persona l thing s are . With tha t I ca n feel at home pretty muc h anywhere i n th e world. ' Bo r n t o a n emigrant Cantonese family in the UK an d brought up there, Mrs. Kao says she used to b e bette r acquainte d w i t h Wester n culture than Chinese culture. But havin g l i v ed i n Ho n g K o n g f o r over 1 0 years , f r o m 197 0 t o 1974 when Prof. Kao chaired the then newl y establishe d Department o f E l ec t r on i c s a t th e University, an d subsequentl y f r om 198 7 whe n h e becam e vice-chancellor, sh e no w feel s comfortable i n both cultures . I t wa s he r experienc e adapting t o differen t culture s that prompted Mrs. Ka o to star t the Chinese University Women' s Organization (CUWO) . 'Whe n anyone change s f r o m on e lifestyle t o another , ther e ar e difficulties. Whe n I wa s a ne w comer t o Yal e University , ther e was a Yale University Women' s Organization ( YUWO) , whic h helped me to make new friend s and explore new interests. That's why when I came to the Chinese University, I was anxious to start CUWO. W e al l nee d i n i t i a l support to help us break in,' say s Mrs. Kao . She describe s th e Chines e wome n community o n campus as a 'very typical' group in Chinese culture in that there are an active fe w an d a vast silen t majority . She wishes that more women would come out and be assertive. Mrs. Kao's other post as Patron of the Art Museum reflects what she call s he r 'ver y undevelope d artisti c side'. A s someon e whos e trainin g ha s been biased towards science very early i n life , it' s onl y i n recen t years that she has had the time to explore her artistic interests . In th e are a o f communit y service, Mrs. Kao was a volunteer for Vietnames e childre n a t th e Whitehead Camp in the summers o f 198 8 an d 1989 . Sh e ha s worked fo r th e Re d Cros s and i s currentl y o n th e Co u n c il o f th e Fam i l y P l ann i ng As soc i a t i on . There i s als o a secre t sid e to Mrs . Kao' s wor k whic h even those in daily contac t w i th he r migh t no t hav e been awar e of . Sh e ha s taught, quasi-incognito , Eng l i sh ora l classe s f o r t w o colleges. 'Student s alway s aske d me curious questions, like "Wher e do yo u live?" ' sh e recall s wit h fondness. ' "On th e campus", I' d say. Then they would ask, "Where on the campus?" I was always very vague. Maybe they suspected but they didn't have the courage to ask me outright.' A ma t hema t i c i a n w i t h a love fo r finance , Mrs. Ka o wa s a mathematics teache r an d a business person before coming t o the University. Being a mother o f two childre n did not prevent her fro m working — sh e wa s alway s engage d in a job o f som e sort , b e i t full-time , part-time, o r voluntary . I t wa s onl y after he r c h i l d r e n ha d gon e t o university i n th e US tha t sh e stoppe d working full-tim e a s sh e ha d t o 'ru n around takin g thing s t o them' . Bein g useful, she says, is the most importan t thing in life . As th e vice-chancellor' s spouse , Mrs. Ka o does not see her role as any different from what it has always been, that is, to quote her, 'part of a two-man team'. 'I alway s looked over the vice - chancellor's report s an d researc h papers as part of my trainin g is similar t o his. No w I rea d ove r hi s speeche s an d talks. Ove r th e years , I'v e take n charg e of th e famil y finance s an d pape r work . Now I jus t exten d i t t o a bigger family . The Universit y i s a big famil y — i t ha s its huma n sid e an d it s publi c side, ' sh e says. As a child, wha t di d Mrs . Ka o wan t to d o i n life ? ‘ I cam e fro m a ver y old - fashioned Chines e famil y wher e boy s were encouraged to achieve and girls were meant to get married, leave the family, and be "discarded". I realized early in life that education wa s th e wa y out. ' Despite , o r perhaps because of, little encouragemen t f r om home , sh e wa s alway s a n outstanding student a t school. Being able t o establish hersel f a s a person i n he r ow n right ha s alway s bee n importan t t o her . For instance , sh e prefers t o be known a s Mrs. Gwe n Kao rather than Mrs. Charle s Kao. 'It jus t happen s tha t my husban d i s the vice-chancellor, ' sh e says. So as a lady whose husband happens to be the vice-chancellor, how doe s Mrs . Kao evaluat e he r ow n performanc e i n relation t o th e University ? I'm no t a s diplomatic a s I shoul d be,' sh e says wit h disarming candour. 'I don' t think the wife of anyon e i n a senior positio n come s t o the job full y trained . You just develop as you g o along . I've learn t a lo t i n thes e nine years . It's goo d t o have crossed th e age o f 60 . Yo u don' t worr y abou t you r appearance an d wha t peopl e sa y abou t you. I hav e a lot mor e self-confidence . I can now d o mos t thing s withou t feelin g embarrassed.' Prof. and Mrs. Ka o w i l l b e taking a holiday i n Ne w York , afte r leavin g th e University i n August , t o 'reweav e th e threads of [their] former non-public life'. 'I look forwar d to the next stage of life,' Mrs. Ka o says , 'We'v e move d s o muc h already. This i s yet another move. ' Piera Chen The garden and its pond A comer of the living-room Han Villa n The Move Again he Mistress of Han Villa Talks about Her 9-Year Sojurn