Bulletin Vol. 1 No. 3 Sep 1964

OPPORTUNITY AND RESOLUTION ( T h e f o llo w in g is the in a u g u r a tio n speech de live red by the V ic e -C h a n c e llo r a t the in s ta lla tio n cerem ony.) I cannot help b u t feel very hum ble on th is solemn occasion to m ark m y in sta lla tion as the firs t V ice-Chancel- lo r. T h e task o f the firs t V ice -C hance llo rship poses as much d iffic u lty as it does challenge, d iffic u lty tha t at times seems insurm ountable. B ut, I am greatly heartened by the w arm sup po rt from the G overnm ent o f H o ng Kong, from the local comm unities, from the C ouncil, the faculties and students o f the U n iv e rs ity itself, from the sister U n iv e rs ity o f H o ng K on g , from universities abroad, from p rom in e n t Chinese scholars everywhere, and from Overseas Chinese comm unities. I t is th is suppo rt w hich gives me the courage to proceed and the confidence that the d ifficu ltie s can be overcome and the challenge met. In pa rticu la r I w ould like to take th is o p p o rtu n ity to pay trib u te to the founders, trustees and fa cu lty members o f the three Post-Secondary Colleges who were responsible fo r developing these Colleges in to the con stituen t parts o f th is U n iv e rs ity , and thus gave us a solid base on w hich to b u ild . W ith o u t th is base we could not hope to realize ou r present and fu tu re plans. A Spec ial Role H o n g K o n g today has achieved an in te rna tiona l status un riva lle d anywhere in the w o rld . I t has become the place o f fam ily reunions fo r the Overseas Chinese, the head- quarters o f th e ir business enterprises and the reservoir o f th e ir capital. T h e Chinese U n ive rsity, established in this city, at th is ju n c tu re , has a special role to play. T h is means recognition o f the fact tha t in te rna tiona l interest in ou r U n iv e rs ity has been strong and genuine from the very beginning. T h e U n iv e rs ity is, o f course, established as a p u b lic in s titu tio n by the G overnm ent o f H o ng K o n g ； it is financed fo r the most pa rt by the G overnm ent itse lf. B u t because o f the w ide in te rna tiona l interest in the U n iv e rsity , in its students and th e ir po tentia l leadership roles, and because o f the v ita l im portance o f in te rna tiona l standards in academic w ork, the U n iv e rs ity has in e v ita b ly been conceived not ju s t as a Chinese in s titu tio n w ith B ritis h a ffilia tio n b u t as a Chinese in s titu tio n o f in te rna tiona l character. The Basi c Qua l i t y T h is basic q u a lity is manifested in many ways. M an y ou tstanding Chinese scholars abroad, men o f in te rna tiona l reputation, together w ith many equally outstanding W estern scholars have given us fu ll suppo rt by serving on the three A d v is o ry Boards o f the U n iv e rs ity . T h e three chairm en o f these Boards are one B rito n , one Am erican and one Chinese. On the U n iv e rs ity C o un cil we have fo u r p rom in e n t educators from the West, namely, the V ice- Chancellor o f the U n iv e rs ity o f Sussex, the D ire c to r o f the School o f O rien ta l and A fric a n Studies o f the U n i­ ve rsity o f L o nd on , the President o f H a rvard U n iv e rs ity and the President o f the U n iv e rs ity o f C a lifo rn ia . W e are closely associated w ith the In te r-U n iv e rs ity C o un cil fo r H ig h e r E ducation Overseas in Lo nd on , a council com - posed o f all the m ajor universities in the U n ite d K in g d om and w ith the aim o f g iv in g advice and assistance to universities overseas. A programme o f close a ffilia tio n w ith the U n iv e rs ity o f C a lifo rn ia has begun w hich we expect w ill develop in to one o f comprehensive cooperation that w ill include general research efforts and exchange o f scholars, facu l- ties and students. T h is relationship w ith one un ive rsity is not intended to be exclusive. W e expect to establish w o rk in g relations w ith the School o f O rien ta l and A frica n Studies in the U n iv e rs ity o f Lo nd on , and w ith other in stitu tio n s. T ies already exist between some o f the Foundation Colleges o f ou r U n iv e rs ity and the Y a le -in - China Association, the U n ite d Board fo r C h ristian H ighe r Education in Asia, the H a rva rd -Y e n ch in g In s titu te , P rin ceton -in-A sia, W illiam s College, D a rtm o u th College, W ellesley College, and K y o to U n iv e rsity . W e expect that such ties w ill be fu rth e r strengthened and developed. I n t e r na t i ona l Assistance In academic matters in te rna tiona l assistance has also been fo rth com ing . T h e B ritis h In te r-U n iv e rs ity Council and Am erican foundations have generously pro vided the services o f experts from abroad to help in p lanning various programmes fo r the U n iv e rsity . C u ltu ra l exchange o f one fo rm o r another has been extended to us by the U n ite d K in gd om , the U n ite d States, and Japan. A n d there are keen interests here and abroad in s u p po rting the estab- lishm en t o f such academic departments as Management and Journalism . A ll these developments make it urgent fo r the U n iv e rs ity to have an 'in tern atio na l-coo pe ra tion ' b u ild in g , w ith o u t w h ic h most o f the prospective arrangements cannot be made. We hope tha t the firs t b u ild in g o f the U n ive rsity, to be completed in 1965, is going to be fo r this purpose. I t m ig h t w e ll be named In te r-U n iv e rs ity H a ll. T h e in te rna tiona l nature o f the U n iv e rs ity has also been given special emphasis by in te rna tiona l pa rticip a tion in its b u ild in g programme. In recent years the H o ng K on g economy has been developing very rap id ly. T h e Chinese U n ive rsity, however, by v irtu e o f its in te rna tiona l charac- ter, should no t rely solely on the H o ng K o n g Governm ent fo r financial resources, b u t should most vigorously seek substantial c o n trib u tio n s from the Chinese com m u n ity in H ong K o n g and from those other countries that have taken a deep interest in its grow th. Pledges o f He l p La st Novem ber, I had the pleasure o f announcing an Am erican c o n trib u tio n o f a quarter o f a m illio n Am erican dollars from the W o rld C hurch Service fo r the b u ild in g o f a U n iv e rs ity student centre. N o w I am happy to announce tha t approval has ju s t been given by H er M ajesty's G ove rnm en t o f an ap pro pria tion o f a quarter o f a m illio n pounds ste rling from the Colon ia l Developm ent and W elfare F u n d to the Chinese U n iv e rs ity . M eanw hile 3