Bulletin Number Four 1987

Ina ugural Speech by Dr . Charles K . Kao The Chinese University o f Hong Kong in the Year 2000 Mr. Chancellor, Professor Ma, Ladies and Gentlemen: January 1, 2000 w ill not only be the dawn o f a new year, a new decade, and a new century, but also the beginning o f a new millennium. On the other hand it w ill also be just a day in the passage o f time between the day before and the day after. It is an exciting date in the history o f the International Calendar and yet it is otherwise just an ordinary day. How w ill the world then look? How w ill Hong Kong fare and where w ill CUHK stand on that day? A fter all it w ill then be beyond 1997. Can we only speculate and leave it to fate, or is there something we can do between now and then that would make a difference? Are we the observers or are we the participants? This seems a choice for the individual, but, I do believe that all o f us here present are, by our very existence, already participants. Like it or not ， we cannot escape the responsibility o f being participants and our efforts towards strengthening the University w ill make an impact. It is what we do, and do not do, that w ill combine to shape the future. CUHK is a fine university. The alumni, the students, the administrative staff, the academic staff and the Vice-Chancellors o f these past twenty-four years have toiled and laboured to make it one o f the finest. Dr. Ma Lin , our recent Vice-Chancellor, who is receiving our honorary degree today ， should be very proud o f his contributions to the consolidation o f this University. Dr. Li Choh-Ming, our founding Vice-Chancellor, had the vision and expansiveness to breathe life into it and create a soul for it, and Dr. Ma had the steady hand to put solidity and substance into the system. The University is deeply appreciative o f their efforts. I am also most conscious o f the tre mendous contributions made by both staff and stu dents alike to make our University what it is today. What all o f us can do for the future is to con­ tinue our fine educational traditions and redouble our efforts during the coming decade and beyond. The differences we can make w ill be significant. With a more widely and better educated population, Hong Kong can play a stronger role in the Pacific rim and the world. Being an important centre o f both commerce and industry, Hong Kong serves the world w ith its immense variety o f human talents. In recent years, CUHK and HKU, along w ith other tertiary institu tions, have been meeting its increasing demand for people w ith university and professional education by- expanding student numbers and introducing a great variety o f needed programmes o f study. In future, to produce the ever-increasing number o f people needed who have the requisite depth and breadth o f knowl edge to cope w ith the problems o f this complex and highly competitive world, a sustained effort must be made at an accelerated pace, especially at the univer sities. With the declared determination o f the Govern ment to expand higher education, this challenge is being addressed, and w ill result in the strengthening o f Hong Kong's primary resource: its human talents. By the year 2000 ， from CUHK alone ， there w ill be over 2500 graduates o f first and higher degrees flowing into society each year, each a contributing member, and each w ith the skills and enthusiasm needed by our society. We also need to strengthen our external links, and we have here an unprecedented opportunity. If Hong Kong is to continue its current role into 1997 and beyond, the time to establish these links is now. This is recognized by all concerned, and whilst this tide o f opportunity exists, it should be taken at its flood. Now is a preparatory period when seeds can be sown and steps can be taken to develop a long term relationship w ith the global financial and indus­ 4