Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1991

Citations interest was not aroused until he was confronted with the fascinating worlds o f mathematics, geometry and logic in his secondary school. These were also the sub­ jects which subsequently led to a career in physics. Upon his graduation with a degree in physics, he took up teaching at Jin-ling Girls' College. But his teaching career was interrupted after three years when he was awarded a scholarship to study nuclear physics at the renowned Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge, where at that time some o f the most outstanding physicists o f the world congregated. By his own account, those were three of the most enjoyable years in his life as he worked under such w e ll-k n ow n scholars as Lo rd Rutherford (a two -tim e Nobel Laureate) and Professors J.J. Thomson, Chadw ick, Cockroft and Walton. It was also at this time that Dr. L i devoted himself to the study o f superconductors, now a mainstream research area but at that time an enterprise rarely attempted. His research was interrupted at the end of his third year at Cambridge when he felt compelled to return to China to do what he could for a country engaged in a war against Japan. He soon found a teaching position at Wuhan University and a supple­ mentary job in the air defence industry, which marked a new departure in his career. From then on, he was to become more and more involved with industry. His qualifications from that point onward are too numerous to list. What I would like to do here is summarize some o f his contributions to economic policy-making and implementation in Taiwan, first as a cabinet member for over 20 years and then as a presidential adviser upon his retirement, or shall I say, semi-retirement in 1988. Under the patronage o f Mr. Yin Zhong-rong, Dr. L i was in itia lly charged w ith promoting the island's industrial development as early as 1953. Specifically, he was given the brief to encourage investment from the private sector to supplement funds from the United States. Under the currency reform from 1958 to 1960 the New Taiwan Dollar was pegged to the US currency, thus paving the way for an export-oriented economy for the next 30 years and accounting to a great extent for the ensuing success of Taiwan's economy. O f course, success did not come easily, and there were difficulties to overcome from time to time. Taiwan had to learn to be financially independent in the face of the gradual phasing out o f American aid. Efficient legislation also had to be passed expeditiously to encourage further private investment in in­ dustrial development, including some o f the 10 major infrastruc­ ture projects which began in 1973. And, above all, long-term technol­ ogical and educational plans had to be laid down to give priority to developing energy resources, the information and computer indus­ try, automation in production, etc. Dr. L i's semi-retirement in 1988 also freed him from admin­ istrative work. He has since been doing something he had always wanted to do. By publishing and lecturing on the miracle o f Taiwan's economy, Dr. L i has continued to make his contribu tions, now in a larger context, it seems to me. The honours he has received are again numerous, including honorary degrees from the University o f Maryland and Boston University, the Sung Kyun Kwan University in South Korea, and the National Central University and National Chiao-tung University in Taiwan. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the New York Chinese Institute o f Engineers, and made Distinguished Honorary Citizen o f the State of Arizona. And lectureships named after Dr. L i have been set up at Harvard and Stanford respectively. Last but not least, he was also made senior fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Mr. Chancellor, for his outstanding achieve ments as a scholar well versed in science and tech nology, as an able top administrator, steering Taiwan's economy to success, and as a humanitarian devoted to the betterment o f people's physical and spiritual life, I present Dr. L i Kwoh-ting for the conferment o f the Degree o f Laws, honoris causa. \ 42ND CONGREGATION 4