Bulletin Number Four 1987

Ad dress by Professor Ma L i n Your Excellency, Dr. Kao, Colleagues and Students ， Ladies and Gentlemen ， First o f all, may I express my heart-felt gratitute to the Chancellor and to the University Council, particularly to the Council Chairman, for the signal honour they have today bestowed on me. I shall be forever proud o f the Honorary Degree conferred on me at this Congregation, and o f the Southern Block o f the Science Centre, which now bears my name. These are indeed precious gifts which w ill remain w ith me for the rest o f my life . I am deeply moved by your goodwill and kindness. As we all know, this University was bu ilt up step by step in extremely d ifficu lt circumstances through, the efforts o f many farsighted scholars who had nothing but their own determination to rely on. Through the steadfast support o f several former Council members and the towering personality o f our founding Vice-Chancellor, Dr. C.M. Li , their dream was finally realized. Come to think o f it, more than twenty years have elapsed since it all began. When Dr. Li retired in 1978 ， it was w ith great trepi dation that I ， on an occasion similar to this one, took the University Seal and a copy o f the University Ordinance handed me ， thus starting an unforgettable page o f my life . I am sure quite a few o f our col leagues here can s till remember the events o f that day. However, I soon discovered that while it was certainly not easy to be the Vice-Chancellor, it was not all that d ifficu lt either. After all, most o f the daily issues that came up could be le ft to be dealt w ith by my very capable colleagues who were much more conversant w ith the intricacies o f administration than I, and all I had to do was to give them a free hand. I think it is o f no secret to you all that most o f the things we accomplished have in fact been done in this manner. I recall a saying o f Dr. C.M. Li's to the effect that since human ability and knowledge are invariably lim ited, one should forge ahead so long as one honestly believes this is for the best. Dr. Li is a capable and courageous trail blazer, whom we admire but cannot hope to emulate. Looking back upon the past nine years, during which so many colleagues have showed me support, patience and forbearance, how can I not feel humble and inadequate? My colleagues and our students are the moving force as well as the master o f this University. May I pay my deepest and sincerest tribute to every single one o f them today. And it is only through them that I acquired the confidence and strength to stand up to challenges which came from outside the University. We all know that the University was born in hard times and has grown up in adverse circumstances. It always upholds goals and ideals which are ahead o f its time here in Hong Kong. Therefore it comes as no surprise that its policies and educational system were not always understood, and much interference was encountered over the years. The recurrence o f such problems meant that I had to live w ith quite a b it o f pressure. On the other 8