Bulletin Number Three

An Interview with Dr. Ma Lin This interview was conducted on the eve of Dr. Ma's retirement by the Editor of Chinese University Bulletin. Q. Dr. Ma, on 2nd October 1978 at the City Hall, you were installed as the Vice-Chancellor of the University. At the Installation ceremony, you pointed out in your speech that ‘The Chinese University has been most fortunate in having the generous support of all concerned and the thorough planning and vigorous leadership of Dr. Li. It now stands on a solid foundation, but the task confronting us today is no less like going against the currents, which allows no rest and demands unrelenting vigilance.' It would seem that at the time you were already aware that by becoming Vice-Chancellor you had taken on a heavy burden to be carried over a long road; what was it, may one ask, that enabled you to keep going in the past nine years? A. When I said the task of running The Chinese University was no less like going against the currents, which allows no rest and demands unrelenting vigilance, I was thinking in terms of the ideal as well as the actual. Let us first look at the ideal side. Yang Xiong of the Western Han once said that education is constituted in the 'moulding of men'; for instance, Confucisus moulded Yan Yuan. The principal task of university education is to mould men capable of bearing the faith which is the accumulated product of mankind over the age; in other words, to produce a generation who will become pillars of our society who can create a new age without forgetting the past. The Chinese University has come into being as a result of the dreams as well as the efforts of many Chinese scholars, who had to overcome numerous obstacles on the path to winning Government and community support for their cause. Ever since its foundation, the steadfast aim has been to make the University a truly modern institution of high standing with an international outlook, worthy of the grand tradition of Chinese scholarship and culture. To achieve these goals, we have to have the support of all concerned. As for our actual task, I always think that the programme of studies and the aim of our research work should all be geared to meet the challenges which our society faces, and be modified from time to time as the need arises. All these involve the recruitment of personnel, the assessment of academic achievement and the evaluation of the University's policies and systems, the handling of which requires professional knowledge of a high order. To combine the ideal with the actual, we need to have a sense of responsibility, to initiate a viable system, not to lose sight of our tradition as well as opening up new paths to development for the future. Needless to say, the burden is heavy and the road is long, and our progress will be like going against the currents. I like to think that the important mission of a modern university is teaching, research and public service. And it is the duty of the university authority to strike a proper balance between these. In a modern society with a high degree of specialization, academic and professional training are of course urgently needed, but one must not forget that it is the moral values and integrity of professional people that determine the quality of life of a community. Q. A policy of our University is to adopt a bilingual approach in its teaching programmes, so as to avoid parochialism in our young people, a parochialism bom of being confined within the world of a single language and single culture. This will enable them to have a broad outlook without neglecting Chinese heritage. This is by no means an easy job. Did you find during your term of office the planning of the academic and teaching programmes difficult? A. The Report by the Fulton Commission proposed to set up a university of international standards, using Chinese as the principal medium of instruction with a four-year undergraduate degree course. The obvious validity of the proposal needs no justification in an institution set up for the benefit of the young amongst the local residents who are predominantly Chinese. We all know that owing 3