Newsletter No. 233

致辭 Speech-making 1大學校董會主席鄭維健博士致歡迎辭 Welcoming address by Dr. Edgar Cheng, chairman of the University Council 2特首兼大學監督董建華先生致祝賀辭 Congratulatory note by the Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the HKSAR and chancellor of the University 3 四十周年校慶晚宴督導委員會主席郭炳 聯博士鳴謝各界 Note of thanks by Dr. Raymond Kwok, chairman of the CUHK 40th Anniversary Banquet Steering Committee 4大學校長金耀基教授述說中大四十 Prof. Ambrose King, vice-chancellor of the University, on CUHK at 40 金耀基校長講辭 Address by Prof. Ambrose Y.C. King 今晚是中大之夜、中大人之夜、中大的朋友之夜；中大成立四十年，中大人走了四十 年，走出了名堂，走出了精彩，今晚我們應該坐下來有一次盛大的歡宴。 中大立校定位是「立足香港，心向中國，面向全球」，中大也一直採二文三語政策。 今晚有許多來自大陸的中大朋友，我要用普通話講幾句，其實普通話已經是「太空語言」 了，記得楊利偉在「太空」說出的普通話嗎？ 「我的感覺良好。」 四十年來，中大有了國際性的聲譽與成就，有了這麼多傑出的校友，有了這麼多中大 熱心的朋友與支持者，特別是聽了特首董先生剛才說的一番講話，我相信，我們都會說： 「我的感覺良好。」 今晚，有許多國際友人，照中大慣例，我用英文致辭。 Mr. Tung, distinguished guests, fellow members of The Chinese University, ladies and gentlemen: I have spoken on many occasions to large audiences. None is comparable to this evening, when we gather to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our beloved university. Six months before my retirement, in my capacity as the fifth vice-chancellor of the University, who has the good fortune of having worked closely with all four of my predecessors in a career that spans three decades across two centuries, I am given this singular opportunity to address you on this wonderful night. I am grateful for the opportunity, which is a privilege extended to only a few. I joined the University at a time when United College was still operating on Hong Kong Island, New Asia in Kowloon, and Chung Chi in Ma Liu Shui; when there was not yet Shaw College, or any Faculty of Business Administration, or Medicine, or Engineering; and when the student body was about 15 per cent of its present size. Those were the days when Cho-Yiu Kwan, R.C Lee, Choh-Ming Li, T.C Cheng, Ch'ien Mu, Yung Chi-Tung, and John Fulton were live personalities rather that historical figures. How they would have marvelled at the astounding growth of the University that they together created. There are of course other old-timers who have held the University dear to their hearts till this day, down from Sir Yuet-Keung Kan and Dr. Quo-wei Lee to Prof. Ma Lin, Prof. Charles Kao, Prof. Arthur Li, and many many more — I count myself as one. For us, the sense of affinity with the University has deepened through many joint efforts. The innovations we explored together have evolved into its systems. The curricula we developed together have become part of its academic tradition. Many of the exciting things we did together have gone down in its chronicles. We find ourselves living through its history as it is being made. And when I stand here to speak, I do not speak for myself, but to give utterance to our common sentiments, sentiments which have drawn us together in this banquet hall. Let's travel back through time and bring our distinguished guests and good friends to 1963, to take a glimpse of the vision of our founding fathers. Theirs is a vision of a university set up for the Chinese by the Chinese in Hong Kong, a university steeped in Chinese heritage but international in outlook, a university that synthesizes the best of East and West. Such a vision has kept us inspired for 40 years, and guided our steps from colonial days to the age of globalization. It has given the University its special character, and its graduates their special flair. We are proud of this identity, we are determined to fulfil our destiny. While the University has embraced change in its quest for excellence, it has always remained true to its commitments. Never have we wavered in our insistence on bilingualism, on holistic education, on the equal importance of teaching and research, on the worth of our college system, and on our duty to serve the community. No financial crisis has ever daunted us. No SARS epidemic has ever overwhelmed us. Those who test our courage will find it strong. Those who challenge our resilience will find it formidable. Tough may be the times, but even tougher are the bonds that bind us together — students, teachers, alumni, staff; partners, friends, advisers, benefactors. United, there is little we cannot overcome. And as we return to the year 2003, how can I not speak of dreams, when the dream of the Chinese people to navigate space has now become a reality? How can I not talk about flying, when by propitious coincidence our 40th anniversary slogan has adopted the imagery of flight and ascension? Certainly we dream big and aim high. As a 'Chinese' university, we dream of a modernized China, we dream of contributing to a new Chinese civilizational order. As a tertiary institution of global vision, we aspire after greatness in Asia, we aspire after service to human kind. Forty years of continuous progress has given us sufficient strength and confidence to soar to new heights in our fifth decade, and we shall try our utmost to sustain this momentum for upward surge. Let's have the daring to say: the sky is our limit. But I shan't be able to dwell long on these dreams, for the time allotted for speeches is almost up. I know I haven't really done justice to the subject, which involves the aspirations of our 16,000 students, 5,000 faculty and staff, more than 70,000 alumni, countless sympathizers, many future generations of young people, and, not least of all, our next vice-chancellor Prof. Lawrence Lau, who sits among us tonight. All that I hope to get across, ladies and gentlemen, is that a vibrant, confident, and vigilant university stands ready here to fulfil its missions and realize its dreams, whatever the obstacles, whatever the burden. Let's give it our will, our labour, our hearts. Let's give it the best of our wishes. Ladies and gentlemen, as we come together to celebrate the 40th birthday of the University, let's feel grateful for its benevolence, let's feel joyful at its accomplishments, let's look forward to a future that promises even more. I hope the evening will be as memorable to you as it will be to me, in many many years to come. 6 No. 233 4th January 2004