Newsletter No. 172

CUHK Newsletter No. 172 4th November 2000 3 Four Distinguished Persons to Receive Honorary Doctorates T he University will confer honorary doctorates on four distinguished persons at its 56th Congregation, which will be held on Thursday, 7th December 2000. They are Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of the Republic of Singapore; Prof. Chen Jiaer, President of the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President of Soka Gakkai International and Founder of Soka University, Japan; and Dr. Tin Ka Ping, a successful entrepreneur and well-known philanthropist. Mr. Lee will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. Prof. Chen will receive the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Dr. Ikeda and Dr. Tin will each be awarded the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is a prominent statesman, known also as the founding father o f modern Singapore. Under his leadership, Singapore became a financial and industrial powerhouse in the Asia- Pacific region. M r . Lee attended the prestigious Ra f f l es Co l l e ge i n S i ngapo re and proceeded to the University of Cambridge to read law. After graduating in 1949 with a double First Class honours degree and a star for 'special d i s t i nc t i on ', he was admitted as Barrister-at-Law at Mi dd le Temple in London in 1950. Mr . Lee returned to Singapore and founded the People's Ac t i on Party in 1954. He was elected to the Legislative A s s e m b l y i n 1955 a nd b e c ame Singapore's first Prime Minister in 1959. Under his capable leadership, Singapore gained independence in 1965. He served as Prime Minister for 31 years until his retirement in 1990. He is now Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. He was awarded Honorary Bencher by Middle Temple in London in 1969 and made Honorary Fellow by F i t zw i l l i am College o f Cambridge in the same year. He was also made Fellow of the Institute of Politics of Harvard University in 1968 and Hoyt Fellow o f Berkeley College, Yale University, in 1970. The C i ty o f London awarded him the title of Honorary Freeman i n 1982. M r . Lee has also received many honorary doctorates from prestigious universities around the world. His remarkable achievements go beyond the c r ea t i on o f an i ndependent and p o w e r f u l S i ngapo re to i n c l ude the p r omo t i on o f peace, s t a b i l i t y, and prosperity in the region. Prof. Chen Jiaer President o f the Na t i onal Natural Science Foundation of China and former President o f Peking University, Prof. Chen Jiaer is a distinguished physicist and educator. Prof. Chen studied physics at Jilin Un i ve r s i ty and pursued postgraduate research at Peking University, the Nuclear Physics Laboratory at Oxford University, as w e l l as Ru t h e r f o rd H i g h Ene r gy Laboratory in the United Kingdom. His outstanding scholarly work for over three decades, i n acce l e r a t or phy s i cs i n particular, has won him many prestigious awards and accolades. Prof. Chen has been actively involved in higher education in China. He was Professor and Vice-President o f Peking Un i v e r s i ty f r om 1984 to 1996 and President f r om 1996 to 1999. He was i n s t r u m e n t al i n b r i n g i n g P e k i ng University into the international academic arena by e n h a n c i ng its a c adem ic achievements and scholarly research. He was also one o f the founding members of the Association o f University Presidents of China, established in 1997. Besides his remarkable contribution to education, Prof. Chen has also been active in promoting the advancement of science i n Ch i na. He was e l ec t ed Academician o f the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is a member of the New York Academy o f Sciences and the American Assoc i a t i on f or the Advancement o f Science. He also serves as member of the Executive Committee of the Presidium of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as the China Association for Science and Technology. He is now president o f the Chinese Physical Society, president of the Assoc i a t i on o f As i a -Pac i f ic Physical Societies, and serves on the editorial board o f many prominent journals. Prof. Chen has been a l ong - t ime friend o f The Chinese University. Wi th his support, Peking University and The Chinese University have maintained very close academic ties. The Beijing Liaison Office o f The Chinese University was established on the campus o f Peking University in 1998, the Joint Centre for Intelligence Engineering and the Joint Laboratory for Plant Molecular Biology and B i o t echno l ogy were launched in 1999, and the two universities set up a joint programme three years ago to enable ma i n l and students to pursue undergraduate s t ud i es at The Ch i n e se University. Dr. Daisaku Ikeda A cu l t u r al and r e l i g i ous leader, philosopher, educator, photographer, and poet, D r . Da i s a ku I keda has made d i s t i n g u i s h ed a nd f a r - r e a c h i ng contributions, and is widely recognized in the international arena. In 1960, Dr. Ikeda was inaugurated as the third President of Soka Gakkai, the largest organization o f Buddh i st lay believers in Japan. Dr. Ikeda has been President o f Soka Gakkai International since 1975, and Honorary President o f Soka Gakkai since 1979. A staunch advocate o f wo r ld peace and humanitarian ideals, Dr. Ikeda has t r a v e l l e d w i d e l y and p u b l i s h ed extensively in an effort to promote peace and international understanding. To this end, he has h ad d i a l o g u es w i t h d i s t i n g u i s h ed w o r l d l e a d e rs on i n t e r n a t i o n al a f f a i r s, c u l t u r e, and e d u c a t i o n. I n r e c o g n i t i on o f h is outstanding contributions towards peace among nations, he was awarded the United Nations Peace Award in 1983, and the Humanitarian Awa rd o f the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1989. Dr. Ikeda is an honorary citizen o f more than 70 cities around the wo r ld and hono r a ry p r o f essor i n over 20 universities. He is also recipient o f over 40 honorary doctorates conferred by educational institutions the world over. Dr. Ikeda founded Soka University, other Soka educational institutions, the Mi n -On Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, w i th an aim to promote education, cultural and artistic ac t i v i t i es, and i n t e r na t i onal exchange. The Chinese University was the first tertiary i ns t i t u t i on in Hong Ko ng to establish academic l i n ks w i t h Soka University in 1975. Dr. Ikeda was invited to v i s i t The Chinese Un i v e r s i ty as D i s t i ngu i s hed V i s i t i ng Professor i n January 1 992, when he delivered an address on humanism and shared his views on various topics with teachers and students of the University. Dr. Tin Ka Ping C h a i r m a n o f T i n s ' C h e m i c a l Industrial Company L imi t ed and Thians' P l a s t ic I n d u s t r i al Company L i m i t e d, D r . T i n K a P i ng is a s u c c e s s f ul entrepreneur who has dedicated himself to promoting the local chemical industry for over three decades. Dr. Tin started his business in Vietnam; he then moved to Indonesia to operate rubber business. In 1958, he settled in Hong Kong where he f ounded T i n s' Ch em i c al I n d u s t r i al Company Limited. Kn own as ' K i ng o f S y n t h e t i c L e a t h e r ' , D r . T i n has c o n t r i b u t ed s i g n i f i c a n t l y to t he manufacturing o f synthetic leather and films. Dr. Tin has been director of the Tung Wah Group o f Hospitals and Pok Oi Hospital, and is currently member of the Advisory Board of Yan Oi Tong Limited. H i s d i s t i n g u i s h ed c o n t r i b u t i o ns to c ommu n i ty service, educa t i on, and charities have earned h i m numerous awards. He is honorary citizen o f more than 30 provinces, municipalities, and counties in mainland China. He has also been appointed honorary professor by more than 30 tertiary institutions. In 1993, an asteroid (2886) was named after h im by the I n t e r na t i onal As t e r o i d / Comet Naming Committee. In 1996, Dr. Tin was made a Member o f the Most Excellent Order o f the British Empire. D r . T i n is a v e r y w e l l - k n o wn philanthropist. In 1982, he established K.P. T in Foundation L imi t ed, through wh i ch generous donations have been given to more than 40 institutions each in bo th the t e r t i a ry and the secondary educa t i on sectors, and hundreds o f h o s p i t a l s a n d i n f r a - s t r u c t u r a l constructions on the mainland. Local beneficiaries o f the Foundation include the Tung Wah Group o f Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, the Community Chest, the Salvation Army, Yan Oi Tong, and Chung Sing Benevolent Society. In 1992, the 'K. P. T in Foundation Fund for Academic Re s ea r ch and D e v e l o p m e n t' was established at The Chinese University with Dr. Tin's donation o fHK$25 million. A library cum academic building on the Chinese University campus was named after Dr. T i n i n app r ec i a t i on o f his generosity. Prof. Chen Jiaer Mr. Lee Kuan Yew Dr. Daisaku Ikeda Dr. Tin Ka Ping