Bulletin Number Five 1983

culture; and also o f supporting research on China and Chinese culture through many different channels. In this light it was w ith great far-sightedness that Govern­ ment chose, twenty years ago, to decide in favour o f establishing a university for which Chinese is the principal medium o f instruction; and it is also clear that the basic policy o f the University which I have just discussed is in accord w ith the long-term needs o f the community o f Hong Kong. Now, I must own that there had been men o f sincerity who nevertheless could not comprehend the reason behind our policy, which appeared to them utterly outdated and impractical. This is most un­ fortunate — and it is perhaps simply an unavoidable phenomenon peculiar to what our sociologist Dr. Lau Siu-kai has in his recent work termed 'a minimally integrated social-political system'. This is why I said at the 1980 Congregation o f the University, ‘alopsided cultural dualism has pervaded Hong Kong for years'. Now, three years later, it is perhaps not overly optimistic to hope that the number o f people who can comprehend the long-term significance o f our work have increased somewhat from what it was. Thus, to sum up, I would say that the two basic goals o f the University are essentially parallel to the long-term policies which Hong Kong ought to pursue: to maintain openness and strive for modernization on the one hand; and to develop Chinese culture and increase contact w ith and understanding o f China on the other. Your Excellency, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, twenty years is but a fleeting moment for a university, and our journey has but begun. May I ， on closing my remarks, submit to you the following: so long as the University can take a tru ly long view ahead while at the same time maintain a practical attitude, then it should have good hopes o f accom­ plishing, i f only one step at a time, what it has originally set out for; by the same route, it should also be possible for Hong Kong to find itself a future that is open and w ith good prospects. (F rom left) Professor Bay-sung Hsu, D r. M a L in , S ir W illiam M e lville A rn o tt, D r. the Hon. Sze-yuen Chung, S ir E dw ard Youde, The H on. S ir P h ilip Haddon-Cave, D r. Joseph Needham, D r. the Hon. Francis Y.H. Tien, D r. the Hon. Q.W. Lee and Professor G.H. Choa 10 NEWS