Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

The First Local University to F Interaction with Mainland Institutions Interaction w i t h ma i n l a nd institutions began i n 1973 w h e n a t e am consisting of some 30 faculty membe rs o f the U n i v e r s i ty p a i d a m o n t h - l o n g v i s it to 11 cities i n China. Th e visit was i n i t i a t ed b y D r. Ch en Fong-ching, then a teacher i n the De p a r t me nt of Physics. Several year s later, teachers of the D e p a r t me nt of Physics were i n v i t ed b y their counterpart s at Zhongshan Un i v e r s i t y to give lectures. T h en i n 1979, th e Chinese A c a d e m y of Sciences o r g a n i z e d an i n t e r n a t i o n al c o n f e r e n ce o n h i g h - e n e r gy p h y s i cs i n C h o n g h u a, Gu a n g z h o u . I n attendance we re Dr. Ch e n Fong-ching, Prof. Ke n n e t h Young, a nd Prof. Ch an Y i u - w ah f r om the University. Dr. Chen recalls that China's three 'Chiens' — Chien Weizhang, Chien Xueshen, Ch i en Sanqiang — and other national leaders such as De ng Xiaoping and H u a Guofeng were present and they conveyed to the participants the country's determination to ope n u p its doors and to start economic reforms. Dr. Chen a nd Prof. Ke n n e th Yo u ng were also amo n g the tens of other H o n g K o ng people being i n v i t e d to B e i j i ng t o a t t e nd t he o f f i c i al 3 0 th a n n i v e r s a r y celebrations of the f o u n d i ng of the People's Re p u b l i c of Ch i na i n 1979. There t hey witnessed the first ever official denouncement of the Cu l t u r al Re v o l u t i on and support for th e open door policy. 'People were optimistic, f u ll of hope,' D r . C h en says. H e p o i n ts o u t that, f or p o l i t i c al reasons, it was the policy of the colonial government to isolate H o n g K o n g f r o m the ma i n l a n d . T h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of T h e Ch i n e se University i n response to the quest for h i g h er e d u c a t i on i n Chinese was o n ly a compromise. Un d er colonial rule, the University, w i t h its p o l i c y ofbilingualism a n d biculturalism, was an anomaly. I t is o n ly after H o n g Kong's reunification w i t h its mo t h e r l a nd that the me a n i ng of the Un i v e r s i t y 's insistence o n its educational ideals t h r o u g h o u t the years becomes f u l ly apparent. The Un i v e r s i t y 's p i o n e e r i ng role i n h e l p i ng to t r a in ma i n l a nd talen t d u r i ng the 1980s wa s most manifest i n the areas of business administration, sociology, a nd social w o r k. In 1984, vice-chancellor Prof. Ma Lin (left 2) concluded an academic exchange agreement with the president of Peking University, Prof. Ding Shisun (left 4). Other members of CUHK in attendance included (from right) Prof. Chang Shu-ting, Prof. Mun Kin-chok, Dr. Chen Fong-ching (then University Secretary), and (left 1) Prof. Liu Pak-wai. 3