Bulletin Vol. 8 No. 10 May 1972

Vote of Thanks by H.E. Sir Murray MacLehose As Chancellor of this University I thank Lord Butler on its behalf for having come so far to open this Science Centre and for his inspiring address. The opening of the Centre is a moment of great importance in the physical and moral construction and consolidation of the University, and to us it of course seems right and proper that the moment should be marked by the presence of a statesman and educationalist of such international stature. But we are most touched and honoured that it should have seemed right and proper to you too, my Lord, and that you should have made this long journey to contribute to this very happy occasion. This gift by Her Majesty's Government was initiated by an application by Dr. Li made in London in 1964 to the Government of which Lord Butler was then Foreign Secretary. The application was referred to the Far Eastern Department of Lord Butler's Ministry. I know well what pleasure it gave the official concerned to convey the Foreign Secretary's support for the application, because the official concerned was myself. There is therefore a certain symmetry about the presence here today of Dr. Li, Lord Butler and myself. As a souvenir of this occasion I ask you to accept this key. lUC CONFERENCE OF VICE-CHANCELLORS AND PRINCIPALS The 1972 Conference of Vice-Chancellors and Principals under the auspices of the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas was held in Hong Kong from 6th to 12th April. Altogether 26 vice- chancellors and principals, 16 academic organisation representatives and 9 agency representatives from various regions attended the Conference held at The Hongkong Hotel. The Conference was chaired by Mr. J.B. Butterworth, Chairman of the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas. The University of Hong Kong and this University jointly hosted the Conference. Delivering an opening statement on 7th April to welcome the participants, Vice-Chancellor Choh-Ming Li pointed out that Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of regional identity and important developments of higher education. First of its kind in Asia, the Conference was held to discuss the following topics: 1. The Universities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific 2. Special Problems of Developing Universities 3. Universities and the Community i) Universities and Government ii) Universities and Their Contributions to Other Levels of Education iii) Universities and Their Contributions to Life- Time Education iv) Universities and Their Contributions to National Development 4. Programmes of Co-operation i) United Kingdom ii) Western Europe iii) U.S.A. iv) Other agencies V) Australia and New Zealand vi) Canada The 51 participants were from Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Fiji, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Southern Africa, Tanzania, The Netherlands, Uganda, United Kingdom, U.S.A. and Zambia. The Conference received a grant of HK$240,000 from the Hong Kong Government and US$15,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Dr. Choh-Ming Li's Opening Statement "Within the Four Seas, all men are brothers” goes a Chinese saying. It would be reasonably safe to rephrase it and say: "Within the Four Seas, all Vice-Chancellors are brothers." After all, Vice-Chancellorship implies a common brotherhood. We may not have to deal with identical problems, but we certainly face similar situations and developments. — 4 —