The inauguration ceremony of the Leung Po Chuen Research Centre for Hong Kong History and Humanities took place on 19 September. Mrs. Fung Ching Suk-yee Betty, Director of Leisure and Cultural Services of the Hong Kong SAR Government; Ms. Leung Hung-kee, benefactor of the centre; and Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, CUHK Vice-Chancellor, unveiled the plaque for the centre.

With Prof. Ho Pui-yin from the Department of History as its director, the centre is established with a generous donation of HK$10 million from Ms. Leung and was named after her grandfather. Professor Ho said that the centre has three objectives. First, it is aimed at promoting an interdisciplinary approach to local studies. Second, it strives to cultivate our students’ interest in local society. Third, it promotes academic exchange between local history researchers from Hong Kong and their counterparts in other regions. 


Ms. Leung has earned a Master of Arts in Comparative and Public History from CUHK and is now working for her Master of Philosophy in History. As a Eurasian, she focuses on the development of multiculturalism in Hong Kong. She is afraid that the history of Eurasians in the city will slip into oblivion if it is not recorded and studied. She said, ‘Many Eurasians, like Ho Tung and Lo Man-kam, have made great contributions to the prosperity of the city. Many stories about them cannot be found in newspapers or archives, and can only be obtained by means of oral history. If we don’t start preserving it now, it will be too late.’


She laments Hong Kong people’s apathy towards and ignorance of history. She supports the establishment of the centre with a view to raising Hong Kong people’s awareness of local history and fostering university students’ sense of belonging to the city.