Bulletin Number Three

specialist knowledge^ but also comes from the fact that he ， on the strength of his learning and foresight, has his own opinions and positions on major national issues ， which help to shape the political and cultural development of society as a whole. Over the years ， because of your devotion to public service ， you have been invited to participate as a member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee and as a Co-convener of its Sub-Group on education, science ， culture, sports and religion. What do you think of the future of university education and academic freedom in Hong Kong? A. First of all, I wish to say that the two basic goals of university education in Hong Kong 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 with and understanding of China on the other. As for The Chinese University, many of our founding fathers were scholars who came directly from Mainland China, and we have never been cut off from the cultural and linguistic traditions of China. In fact, this pricisely coincides with the educational goal long cherished by the University which is to advance Chinese culture and to work for a union of the cultures of East and West. In other words, we are not confining our attention to Hong Kong alone, but are keeping in close touch with Chinese culture and tradition, and not to harp too much on our own rights, remembering where our cultural tradition lies. For many years, China has been under a highly centralized political system, within which many intellectuals were conscious that little weight was attached to their views. Academic freedom reached almost vanishing point. But I believe this tendency in China has now been slowly reversed; China has, in fact, affirmed the value of intellectual labour and recognized the crucial role of education and knowledge in the process of modernization. For us in Hong Kong, where university education has been highly developed and academic freedom has always been taken for granted, these new developments in China should not be overlooked. 'In the conditions of modern life, the rule is absolute: the race which does not value trained intelligence is doomed.' These words uttered by A.N. Whitehead some sixty years ago is still valid today, and very illuminating indeed. As long as the people both in China and Hong Kong accept the spirit of Whitehead's words, I think the future of university education and academic freedom should be very bright. It is only through cultural identification with China that we would be able to choose the right path for Hong Kong; it is through realization that Chinese culture is a dynamic and growing tradition that we could, while admitting there are defects, endeavour to work for its continual progress and modernization. If we do this, our university education would become meaningful, and, at the same time, our research work would find its roots. Q. We all know that during your Vice-Chancellorship, the University made great strides in many respects, for example, following upon the reorganization of the University set in motion by the Report of the Second Fulton Commission in 1976, the University was brought together into an integrated framework; the successful development of a Medical Faculty; a major revision of the undergraduat curriculum was instituted ， and the Part- time Degree Programmes were launched; generous support and donations for capital programmes and research have been received from individuals and organizations; links with Chinese and overseas academic institutions have been greatly strengthened; 6