Bulletin Vol. 6 No. 7 Jul–Aug 1970

Prof. Fong Wen, University of Princeton; Prof. C.T. Hsia, Columbia University; Prof. Fan Ky, University of California, Santa Barbara; Prof. L i Tien-yi, Ohio State University; Prof. Li-yue Sheng, National Cheng Chi University; Dr. Tai Chen Hwa, University of Singapore; Prof. Anthony M. Tang, Vanderbilt University; Prof. Y .C Ting, Boston College; Prof. Harry Wang, Loyola University; Miss Betty Wong, University of Alberta Hospital; Prof. Soki Yamamoto, National Tokyo University of Education; and Prof. Frederick T.C. Yu, Columbia University. They served as External Examiner in the following subjects respectively: Chinese Literature, Electronics, Fine Arts, English Language and Literature, Mathematics, History, Accounting and Finance, Education, Economics, Botany, Zoology, Social Work, Geography, and Journalism. They visited the Foundation Colleges of the University during their stay in Hong Kong. Prof. L i Tien-yi gave a talk on "Scholarship: Specialization and Generalization" on 30th May, and Prof. Fan Ky talked on "Sets with Convex Slices and Applications in Analysis I", both at New Asia College. V i c e - Ch a n c e l l or add r esses t he Se c ond A s i a n S t u d e n t Co n f e r e n ce Dr. Choh-Ming Li, Vice-Chancellor of the University, delivered an opening address at the Second Asian Student Conference of the Asian Students' Association on 27th July, 1970 at the City Hall. The conference, held at Chung Chi College from 27th July to 1st August, 1970, was sponsored by the Hong Kong Federation of Students. The theme of the conference was "Student Co- operation in Asia". Student representatives from various Asian countries participated. The following is Dr. Li's speech: About half a century ago, an educator spoke to the graduates of his college in the West and summed up the process of learning in these words: "Knowledge is the development of power to think independently, to observe carefully, to imagine vividly and to will nobly." These are not well-worn empty words, but phrases of significance applicable to our troubled times. "To will nobly" happens to be in the grand tradition of the Chinese people. A minister-scholar of the Ch'ing Dynasty in China made a similar comment; "To be a well-educated person, one must first possess a noble will, then a fine sense of judgment and finally a constant devotion." Why "a noble will" is especially important to the entire course of our future development needs a little elucidation. The central fact of our current malaise is that the older generation is still largely preoccupied with political stability and economic productivity. This comes as a natural consequence when sole emphasis is laid on economic recovery and reconstruction after the war. Everything else is of secondary importance. In this economic scheme of things, the individual is allowed and encouraged to pursue his personal advancement. Affluence is all. Everybody believes that as long as the individual is doing well, there is no reason for the society to go wrong, since the whole is the sum of the parts. In bringing up the young, the older generation is motivated by mere snobbery or by greedy anticipation of the money they hope to see their children make. Many parents are eagerly trying to thrust their children to higher education without regard to their abilities and inclinations. To them, the diploma is a ticket to security and success to be paid and bought for future presentation. The members of the younger generation, it seems to me, do not attach as much importance to personal advancement as their elders. To them technology is no substitute for value and prosperity no substitute for peace of mind. They are beginning to evaluate life with a different set of standards and tend to be preoccupied with a set of social values that emphasize social costs and quality of life. Mere personal affluence without paying attention to costs to the society will only create more problems, leading to disastrous consequences hitherto ignored or unimagined. Demands for productivity must be balanced by providing social security, medical care, and universal education to all. In short, advantages must be provided for the disadvantaged and the underprivileged. What is the point of living in comfort, if one lives in the midst of filth and poverty? What is the meaning of life if one cannot share his rewards with his fellow countrymen? The younger generation realizes that the individual is part of the total society and his first responsibility is not to operate for his own gain but for the well-being of society. Thus the present priorities must be shifted from mere productivity to social responsibility and quality of life. While the older generation are proud of their material achievements, the younger generation are frustrated by their elders, apparent blindness to new concerns. Surely, broad education, decent living, a healthy environment and a chance for each and every individual to grow to his own fullest potential are more basic than bank deposits, dividends to shareholders and the growth — 7 —