Bulletin No. 1, 2013

50th Anniversary Distinguished Lectures 47  Chief Justice on Reality and Future of Constitution Mr. Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li , Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, delivered a lecture on ‘The Essence of Our Society: From a Written Constitution to Reality and into the Future 50 Years’ to some 400 academics, students, legal practitioners and members of the public on 22 March. Mr. Justice Ma’s talk focused on the law with a special emphasis on the Basic Law. He gave an overview of the functions and features of the Basic Law, which he pointed out, is not just a document which describes Hong Kong’s relationship with the Central Authorities, its political structure, the economy, education, culture, and other internal structures as well as external affairs; it also provides a guarantee of rights and liberties, enabling everyone who lives and works in Hong Kong to have the peace of mind knowing that there is an entity—the law— before which they are equal and on which they can rely for protection. Most people in our community, including himself, he said, believe that Hong Kong’s legal system is a good one, and stressed that the independent judiciary is a core value of the system. Looking into the next 50 years, Mr. Justice Ma remarked that it is not too early to think about how Hong Kong’s legal system will develop. One of his main responsibilities is for the judiciary to continue to earn the respect and confidence of the community and the world. ‘If the judiciary can continue to do what is expected of it, this then is a system that is worth preserving. As the community faces whatever challenges appear in the future, it will want to retain all those institutions that have served the community well in the past and which will do so again in the future.’ T hree internationally renowned academics and the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong were invited to host the University’s 50th Anniversary Distinguished Lectures. Professor Zimbardo even cited two CUHK students as everyday heroes in Hong Kong. Gloria Ma with congenital muscular dystrophy who reaches out to others with diseases and volunteers as a counsellor providing services to low-income children, and Li Yongjie who makes service trips to Xi’an Starfish Foster Home for orphans and children with special health needs. When the personal virtue of compassion is transformed into the civic virtue of heroic action, the ripple effect can bring great changes to the world.