Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2004

Citation Dr . W i l l i am Mo ng Man Wa i, DBA (Hon), LLD (Hon), D.S.Sc. (Hon) The Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the Shun H i n g G r o up i n 2003 was a magnificent occasion celebrated w i t h a large assemblage of distinguished guests and messages of cong r a t u l a t i ons and good wishes f r om all over the w o r l d . Founded i n 1953, the Shun H i n g Gr oup is go i ng f r om strength to strength after half a century of enterprising effort, and behind the grandeur of its success there is a m o v i ng story. It all began w i t h a p r om i se be t ween the c omp a ny and a f o r e i gn f r i end, w h i c h was b r o u g ht to f r u i t i on through the collaborative efforts o f a r e m a r k a b l e S i n o - J a p a n e se partnership. Th r ough lots of hard w o r k and a readiness to move w i t h the times the enterprise t ook off, and has since soared to the heights of business success. Dr. W i l l i am M o n g M a n Wai is the chairman and senior managing director of t h e S h u n H i n g G r o u p , a n d an e n t r e p r e n e ur a nd p h i l a n t h r o p i st of i n t e r na t i onal r enown. H i s f am i ly had c ome f r o m t he P a n y u C o u n t y of Guangdong, and he was bo rn i n H o ng K o n g i n 1927. Bo th h is parents we re overseas Chinese w h o r e t u r n ed f r om Japan and were very conversant w i t h the Japanese language, and the young William h a d d e v e l o p ed an e a r ly i n t e r e st i n mathematics and the sciences. He went to La Salle College and, du r i ng the Second Wo r l d War, mo v ed to the ma i n l a nd to further his studies. He returned to Ho ng Kong after the War and was then admitted to Tsinghua University i n Beijing, where he p r o c e e d ed t o s t u d y a v i a t i o n engineering. In 1948 he came back to Hong Ko ng u p on the instruction of his father, and i n 1949 he went to Japan to continue his education, at wh i ch po i nt a un i que career of exceptional dimensions began. Wh en he first arrived i n Japan, M r . Mo ng ardently sought to consolidate his command of Japanese and to gain in-depth understanding of the life and manners of the Japanese people. He enrolled at the Ch i y oda P r i ma ry School i n the Kanda district in Tokyo and, despite his status as a u n i v e r s i ty s t uden t, sat w i t h y o u n g children and studied i n their midst. Mr. Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2004 32