Bulletin Number Five 1983

unified University campus came into being, and the University underwent a major reorganization and saw unprecedented change and expansion. I should also like to express our gratefulness to our present Council Chairman, Dr. the Hon. Q.W. Lee for his all-out support to and concern for the University. Further development o f the University w ill depend on greater efforts on our part in the right direction. The responsi­ b ility for this falls especially heavily on those o f you who are graduating today. In the past asin the future, the primary objective o f the University must be the promotion o f learning and the education o f the young talents o f our society. The spirit which sustains such long-term efforts comes from the sense o f responsibility which we feel towards society, towards our cultural tradition, and towards the future o f mankind. Today, taking advantage o f this opportunity o f speaking to you as you are leaving the University, I would like to dwell on the concept o f responsibility and te ll you what my expectations are where you are concerned. In this modem day and age, rapid developments in science and technology have created over the years an undue emphasis on knowledge per se, to the neglect o f cultural values and attitudes. While the importance o f knowledge cannot be disputed, it is necessary for us to appreciate that man's behaviour is not totally governed by knowledge alone. Knowledge determines what man is able to do. It cannot dictate what man wants to do. What man wants to do is determined by his values and aspirations. People w ith the same level o f knowledge can do quite different things, and in the process, their impact on society and culture can be very different. I f we wish to make a positive contribution to the future o f mankind and to be able to do something useful, it w ill be necessary, in addition to the pursuit o f knowledge, to harness our own inclinations and build into ourselves proper and constructive attitudes towards life . Such attitudes w ill help steer our own behaviour in the right direction. In the past, theologians who understood the importance o f attitude to behaviour laid great stress on religious beliefs. Today some o f us may not abide by any religious teachings but it is nevertheless important for us to live by certain firm ly held values, to set for our selves some formal guidelines which govern human behaviour. Only then w ill our life and conduct be imbued w ith the uplifting motive power that they need. A sense o f responsibility to which I am referring must be an integral part o f our attitude towards life . We have enormous obligations to fu lfil in life and the fulfilment o f each obligation requires, asaprerequisite, a serious, responsible attitude. For instance, if you decide to work in the field o f social welfare ， you should have an unequivocal feeling o f responsibility towards relieving the suffering o f the destitute. Only w ith this sense o f responsibility w ill you work in real earnest. Although your technical knowledge may still be wanting at this stage, you w ill not lose your way. On the other hand, those people who possess an abun­ dance o f knowledge but not a sense o f responsibility w ill not necessarily perform the task at hand better than you. This is a guiding principle which I think w ill apply to all kinds o f human endeavours. I believe a solemn sense o f responsibility is a prerequisite to the fulfilment o f obligations. Quite recently, there has been a great deal o f discussion on the subject o f moral education in Hong Kong. As modem society's attitude towards various behaviours are changing all the time, it is d ifficu lt to establish firm and unequivocal moral standards. To some people, this may suggest that the promotion o f moral education could be a problematic proposition. However, while the finer points o f morality in their essence are inevitably changing, our own attitudes towards life could still be governed by some meaning­ fu l guidelines. And these guidelines can serve as basic tenets in the conduct o f moral education. The concept o f responsibility may be a simple one but it is one such guideline. I believe that if you started building up your own sense o f responsibility from this very moment on ， after a period o f time you would discover that your desire and ability to do better in life would increase and you would not labour under a sense o f loss o f direction and a sense o f emptiness. Graduates o f The Chinese University, you are in the springtime o f life . Your success in the future w ill obviously depend on your own efforts in various areas. But taking a serious, responsible attitude towards life is what you can do now and what you should do now as the first thing on your list o f priorities. To take the argument one step further, I feel that concurrent w ith building up a sense o f responsibility, you should also pay attention to building up the spirit o f enterprise w ithin you so as to reinforce your other positive attitudes. When I say an enterprising spirit, I do not mean the w ill to fight for power and profits. I mean a fear less, determined dedication to self-improvement. In the course o f going through life , guiding our behaviours w ith a serious sense o f responsibility, we w ill meet obstacles along the way. We w ill be confronted w ith temptations and we w ill be put under pressure. A t this point, if we retreat or withdraw easily, all our previous efforts w ill have been in vain. To stand steadfast, not to lose heart in the face o f all this requires the strong support o f an indomitable spirit. 12 NEWS