Bulletin Vol. 6 No. 6 May–Jun 1970

in Southeast Asia will certainly bring to the fore many other types of relationships that have up to now been overwhelmed by the military issue. These other types of relationships are those that the West will inevitably become involved in, such as, trade, economic development, cultural interchange, etc. I am keenly conscious of the role you will have to play as leaders of tomorrow in developing these other relationships, or involvements if you like, into mutually satisfactory, beneficial , and really creative arrangements. It is in this context that I would like to say a few words about what is happening in Higher Education in Asia today. What we aspire to do there should be of interest to you. To speak of Asian Higher Education seems to imply that Higher Education in Asia is a unique system which in no way duplicates its Western counterpart and that we are talking about two separate worlds. But is this true? Two incidents came to my attention just last month indicating that we are bound together. On April 24th, a frail , old, Chinese lady who is a neighbour of ours, refused to go to bed. She stayed awake all night listening to the radio until she had been assured that the Apollo 13 astronauts had returned safely to earth. She has no interest in science and knows practicall y nothing about the space programme but, lik e millions of others on this planet, she was gripped by concern, fear and relief, the reactions shared by all. The question of Asian, Canadian, American or European did not arise. Then an interesting developmen t came into focus in the latter half of April. The Chinese language press was suddenly flooded with articles and feature stories on environment, water and air pollution, combustion and smog. The problems have been with us for some time but the general public is only now becoming aware of them. The sudden awakening has made us a member of the ecology club. Not onl y do we enjoy the fruits of industrialization and urbanization, but we are also confronted with their dire consequences. In the East as well as in the West, we will all be caught up in the chain of cause and effect of our technological advance. There are no exceptions. On these fundamental and universal issues we are identified by our common humanity. A close look at our present subject, Higher Education in Asia, reveals, however, some strong similarities in East and West and some clear contrasts. We all know that most of the earliest universities in Asia were modelled closely after universities in the West. And we also know that national and cultural characteristics gave them a special quality and spirit. The pen may be mightier than the sword but ink is no substitute for blood. These new Asian universities adopted Western forms more easily than they were adapted to Western content. I should not like to give the impression that all Asian universities are alike or that their aims are identical. Suffice it to say that their purposes range from complete rejection of traditional values to the other extreme of rejection of Westernization, seen as a subversive and disruptive influence on society. We must avoid labelling them by saying that one is Western and the other is traditional. Actually most of our universities make an honest effort to give equal weight to the task of modernization and the responsibility fo r revitalizing cultural tradition. This position is a valid one based on the intellectuals' belief that since the modern university in the West has kept cultural tradition alive, at least up to now, there is no reason why they cannot achieve the same in Asia. The process of cultural evolution and interaction is a complex one at the best of times, but when the society is in a state of tension over the conflict between modernizing and traditional forces, the problems are magnified. Reactions to these conflicting forces have been sometimes violent and always vocal, what we now call "guts" reactions. Perhaps for our purposes we could quote two slogans which emerged from the encounter in China: one reads, "Traditional studies as the base; Western studies for practical purposes only". Some who used this slogan meant specifically by "practical purposes", "bigger battleships and better guns". Impatient with the progress being made under this policy , others adopted the slogan "Wholesale Westernization at al l costs". Feelings ran high and for a time obscured the possibility of espousing a more balanced programme. The passage of time and the experience of becoming a vital and integral part of the world community have resulted in a new, mixed view of culture. By tradition we mean the living tradition which is and should be constantly and continuously enriched, and not the enshrined and mummified tradition kept in emotional and spiritual museums. In Hong Kong we are at once modern and traditional. The mini skirt co-exists with the cheongsam and will soon give way to the midi; our young people occasionally enjoy a hamburger or hot dog — 4 —