Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

other side is what the factory made of her. Her thousand employees taught her about the working people of Ho n g Kong. After the affluent ease of America she was struck b y the extraordinary capacity for hard wo rk of her employees, many of them recent refugees. She found herself inspire d by their initiative and their hunger for self-betterment. After wo r k i ng a 10-hour day they wo u ld line up outside her door asking for overtime. From this Ms. Wong caught a glimpse of what she saw as the potential greatness of Hong Kong, i n the sheer industry and entrepreneurial spirit of the people. This experience helped to shape the commitment she was to bring to her leadership of some of Ho ng Kong's key trade and professional associations over many years — organizations that have also played an important part in the story of Ho ng Kong's prosperity. Her experience in manufacturing taught Ms. Wong both pragmatism and vision. She learned about markets, t o 'start small' w i t h products, not to over-extend, to be flexible and, above all, to face the need for change and innovation. In the early 90s Ms. Wong herself realized that Ho ng Kong society and its economy were changing. The moment for large-scale textil e manufacturing i n Ho ng Kong had passed. She sold her textile factory. The future of Ho ng Kong, she believes, lies i n ideas and education, especially in the area of new technology. This belief lies behind her keen support of innovation and entrepreneurship, for example in the scholarships her family has funded at this university to promote and encourage these very qualities. Her aspiration is 'to bu i ld something new i n Hong Kong ' by bringing entrepreneurs together w i t h young people an d their ideas. Despite today's global uncertainties and local economic hardships, Ms. Wong is optimistic about th e long-term future of Ho ng Kong. Ms. Wong has generously served many wo r t hy causes across a broad spectrum of activities. To name only a few. as a businesswoman, she has helped Ho ng Kon g become a world-class textiles centre; she was a member of the Textiles Advisory Board for 12 years; she has chaired the Garment Ad v i s o r y Committee of the Ho ng Kong Trade Development Council; she was on the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee from 198 4 to 1987; she is a Life Member of the Society of the Academy for Performing Arts; she has been a major benefactor of the Friends of the Prince of Wales Hospital; like her sister Miranda Tang she has been a member of the President's Council of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cance r Center in N e w York. Ms. Wong has been a great advocate and supporter of education for the least fortunate in mainland China, such as the children in an elementary school she visited that had m u d floors and unrendered brick walls. She saw it as her responsibility to help these children make a start i n life. This support is also evident i n her w o r k w i t h her alma mater, a h i g h school i n Shanghai. Together w i t h several of her old classmates, Ms . Wong helped to form an alumn i association tha t funds secondary schooling for y oung girls from the remote rural areas of Jiangxi Province wh o wo u ld otherwise receive no education. Eighty per cent of these girls are now attending university, Ms. Wong believes this k i nd of help may provide one of the best hopes for breaking the poverty cycle i n these destitute regions of China. Ms. Wong and her family have also wo r k ed tirelessly to promote education w i t h in Ho ng Kong. Her emphasis has been on ensuring that the less gifted and most vulnerable teenagers are given schooling opportunities and the hope of a self-supporting career. For example, she has wo r k e d closely w i t h and supported m i d d le schools i n the N ew Territories to make sure that such youth are given technical or professional training . Fortunate herself to be bo rn into a family of great affluence, Ms. Wong is moved to effective action by the needs of others. In the 70s she had the vision and the compassion to employ mentally and physically handicapped people i n her textile factory. She was one of the first i n Ho ng Kong to do so. She has been a major benefactor of various charities such as the Commu n i ty Ches t of Ho ng Kong, Save the Children Hon g Kong, and the Ho ng Kong Cancer Fund. I n these situations, Ms. Eleanor Wong has made a difference. She is, in the true sense of the word, a philanthropist 一 as we ll as an active supporter and patron of the performing arts, higher education an d health care. I am privileged to present Ms. Eleanor Wong to you, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, for the award of the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. 52