Newsletter No. 34

No.34 September 1992 CUHK Newsletter David's speech at the opening ceremony: 'It was, I think, an extremely happy idea to name this centre after Benjamin Franklin. He was certainly one of the outstanding men of his time, and versatility was one of his prominent characteristics. Statesman, philosopher and scientist, he had afull career and an enquiring mind. ‘If there is arisk of the students of this university becoming narrow in outlook through intensive study in their own disciplines, it is here at this centre that they will have the chance to mix with members of other faculties and to widen their ideas through debate and social contact.' Fromwhat this writer has observed, the BFC, as it is affectionately known to all on campus, has indeed fulfilled the charge given it by the late Chancellor, and most of the activities conducted therein are no doubt what Mr. Franklin would have smilingly approved. Cho-Yiu Hall Dr. the Honourable Sir Cho-Yiu Kwan (1907-1971) was, apart from being a highly successful lawyer and a prominent citizen of Hong Kong, one of the founders of The Chinese University, and the first chairman of its Council, from 1963 to 1971. Among his numerous contributions to CUHK, the most remarkable must be the efforts he made to secure a campus for the University. Dr. Choh-ming Li, Sir Cho-Yiu's long-time colleague, had this to say about the part Sir Cho-Yiu played in obtaining the grant of 273 acres of Crown land from the Government: ‘Even with the Government's agreement in principle to grant the land to the University, it required immense legal talent and negotiating skill to overcome the many problems along the way. Representing the University in this matter, Sir Cho-Yiu handled the negotiations single-handed - with heavy personal sacrifice in time and effort. I believe it was largely his unquestioned integrity and selfless devotion to public interests that hastened the consumation of the negotiations for the land grant to the University on 3rd July 1970.I may state unequivocally that without the land The Chinese University would not exist as it does today. That statement describes exactly the major contribution of Sir Cho-Yiu to the University.' As a tribute to Sir Cho-Yiu Kwan, the University decided, in early 1972, to name the University conference hall the ‘Cho-Yiu Hall’. His portrait in the hall, which hangs behind the chairman's seat, is a present from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. R C Lee Lecture Hall Known variously to different generations of students as the UFO, the Flying Saucer or the Electric Rice Cooker, the lecture hall complex at the Science Centre, a fine specimen of the architect's ingenuity, has been acampus landmark for many years. It was dedicated, 7