Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1991

Citations It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Chiang has a success story longer and perhaps more complicated than most people. And it is equally clear that his commitment to the community deserves our admira­ tion no less than his achievements. Dr. Chiang was born of a farmer's family, became an orphan at an early age, endured extreme hardship and received only four years o f formal education. A t the age o f 18, Dr. Chiang responded to the call, shi wan qingnian shi wan j u n ( I f there are one hundred thousand young men and women, that means there are a hun­ dred thousand service men and women [to serve the nation]), and enlisted in the army. In 1949 he made his arduous way down to Hong Kong from Hunan as a refugee all by himself. Once in Hong Kong, Dr. Chiang endured further hardships as he took up work at a pier, a dyeing factory and the mine at Ma On Shan respectively. Despite the hardship and d iffi­ culties, Dr. Chiang remained undaunted and persisted. He even went to Japan because o f better wages there. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he found a job at Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company and, as a novice knowing hardly anything about machinery, Dr. Chiang very conscientiously and methodically picked up a comprehensive knowledge o f mechanical maintenance. In 1958, Dr. Chiang set up Chen Hsong, a small maintenance workshop to begin with, at Tai Hum Tsuen w ith the little money he was able to raise. Soon afterwards, follow ing the rapid development o f Hong Kong's plastics industry, Chen Hsong began to manufacture plastics machines and grew from a workshop to a company, and eventually to a group business. Today the group is thriving and can be described as an industrial empire. O f course, its setbacks have been numerous, but they too are highly educational. In 1972-73, for instance, when the world­ wide recession hit Hong Kong and banks started to tighten credit, Dr. Chiang found himself in financial straits. And it was only through his wisdom, hard work and persistence that Dr. Chiang was able to weather the crisis. Nowadays, the Chen Hsong Group has expanded its business, w ith plants located in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, and its production and investment greatly diversified. Apart from injection moulding machines, which the group is most noted for, it also manufactures robots, custom moulding, and ductile cast iron. A trading and investment arm has also been added. In Dr. Chiang's philosophy, i f Hong Kong's industry is to prosper, automation is essential. And it is only through a considerable investment in automa tion research that we can hope to be able to manu facture high precision products and make our goods truly competitive. To this end, Dr. Chiang donated generously towards the establishment o f the Hong Kong Plastic Technology Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. To fu rthe r make industry take root in the Chinese community, Dr. Chiang in his philanthropic spirit donated his entire shareholding in the Chen Hsong Group, valued at 800 m illion Hong Kong dollars, to set up the Chiangs' Industrial Charity Foun dation. The funds are to be used: ‘ 1. to encourage and assist in the research and development o f machinery; 2. to encourage and assist in the improvement of production techniques in the mechanical industry; and 3. to assist in the training o f talents in the industrial field.' It is his hope that some day the funds w ill support a kind o f Nobel Prize in Asia to give in­ centives to scientists o f Chinese origin to conduct technology research. Last year, Dr. Chiang made a generous donation for the construction o f Chiangs Building on The Chinese University campus for the accommodation o f visiting scholars and trainees. Dr. Chiang started o ff with practically nothing and has struggled for a good part o f his life, con­ firm ing the adage, tian xing jian, junzi zi qiang bu xi (Nature proceeds on its own ceaseless course, so does a gentleman, forever forging ahead). And what is particularly worth mentioning is his reformist con viction that industry must serve the community —a conviction which he preaches and puts into practice by returning to the community that which he has obtained from it. His hope is that his gesture may encourage the business sector to contribute its share to the promotion o f technology. Mr. Chancellor, Dr. Chiang Chen exemplifies perseverance and success. Dr. Chiang is also an ex­ ample o f selfless commitment to the betterment of education. His story reflects the Confucian conviction that once you are on your feet, you ought to assist others to do the same (ji li li ren, j i da da ren). On behalf o f the University, may I request that your Excellency confer upon Dr. Chiang Chen the Degree o f Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. 42ND CONGREGATION ■ 7