Bulletin Winter 1988

why higher education has been, and w ill continue to be, a high priority area in government planning. To maintain the prosperity and vitality of this territory, we need produce more graduates. We need also to produce graduates who are versatile and capable of meeting the challenges of anincreasingly sophisticated society and an increasingly competitive world. Many of our young people go abroad for their tertiary education because we lack sufficient places here. There is nothing wrong with seeking education over seas. Far from it, but we need to develop our system of higher education in such away that we can provide opportunities for many more of our young people who want to do so to go on to tertiary education, here in Hong Kong. There are o f course widely conflicting views on how this should best be done. That is to be expected. But when we debate this issue we need to keep con­ stantly in mind the interests o f the community as a whole and o f the young people o f Hong Kong. How best can we give them the opportunities that they seek? How best can we help them develop into the leaders o f tomorrow? How can we achieve the greatest good for the greatest number? These are not easy questions. They have implications and repercussions far beyond any single institution. But they are the questions that the Government must consider when assessing the public's comments on the Education Commission's proposals. Universities are more than institutes o f learning. Certainly, academic excellence and research are impor tant, both in individual terms and for the benefit o f society. But a university should also provide an oppor tunity for personal development, so that young people go out into the world w ith the ability to make the best use o f what they have learnt. I know that this University, w ith its magnificent location, has always placed great importance on these broader perspectives. We are honouring here tonight six distinguished persons from a variety o f backgrounds. But they have something important in common —the contributions that they have made to society. Sir David Akers-Jones, Dr. Peter Poon Wing-cheung and Dr. Esther L i, have in their various ways made significant contributions to the well-being o f the people o f Hong Kong. The intellectual achievements o f Professor Paul Chu and Professor Zhao Zhong-xian, and the artistic excellence o f Dr. Yu Zhen-fei, have enriched the cultural and academic life o f an even wider circle. May I conclude by congratulating the Univer sity and the honorary graduates on the occasion o f this auspicious anniversary, and by wishing you all a very successful future. This is our silver anniversary. May we go on triumphantly to our golden anniversary in twenty-five years time. 6