Bulletin No. 1, 2010

Intellectual Cross-currents  47 Henry Tang Ying-yen on Magnanimity T he Honourable Henry Tang Ying-yen, Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR, shared his views on leadership with some 1,500 students at the Shaw College assembly on 18 September 2009. Mr. Tang said a smart leader should be willing to work with people who are smarter than him, and should partner with those who can make up for his weaknesses. He pointed out that the government should not detach itself from the people. It is important to listen to voices from all walks. He quoted Winston Churchill saying, ‘Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.’ Japanese Ambassador on East Asian Overtures M r. Takanori Kitamura, Ambassador of Japan to Greece, gave a lecture titled ‘EU Experience of Integration and East Asian Overtures’ on 17 September 2009 on campus, to an audience of over 100. Mr. Kitamura first introduced the institutional characteristics of the EU and analysed the traditional sovereign states that have existed for the last 350 years, and the European countries that have relinquished sovereign rights and formed a community with one another for mutual benefit. He then claimed that East Asia would benefit from forming a regional community. He stressed that China and Japan are to shoulder the main task of initiating and leading community building and for that purpose, the strategic partnership between China and Japan is extremely important. Intellectual Cross-currents