Newsletter No. 483

in the rural areas to attend senior high school in Dingxi City. I have come to know each one of them well through correspondence. Some of them have graduated and even got into first-tier universities. It is gratifying to note their good academic results. How do you see higher education in Hong Kong? When compared to Singapore where university attendance rate is as high as 85%, Hong Kong (presently at 60%) has still some way to go. The Government can improve the situation by making more university places available in the eight funded universities, and efforts should also be made to leverage on the degree and associate degree programmes offered by the non-funded colleges. This way the opportunity for tertiary education can be offered to a greater number of aspiring young adults who can realize their potentials to become useful members of society. This in turn will improve the quality of the citizenry and the human capital of Hong Kong. How are your first 100 days as CUHK Chairman? My assumption of chairmanship couldn’t have coincided with a more eventful time of the University. I was immediately thrust into the torrent of events which demanded my immediate attention, including the search for a new Vice-Chancellor and taking appropriate actions in response to the recommendations of the UGC report on university governance. I made plans to reactivate and reconstitute the Executive Committee of the Council, draft a code of practice for Council members, and will lead the Council members in overseeing the execution of the University’s strategic plan for the next five years. There is also the milestone project of the CUHK Medical Centre. Thanks to all the Council members, the Council committees and the university administration, all of the above are being well handled and making remarkably good progress. During this period I had also met with various stakeholders including the university, college and faculty management, and staff and student associations. I believe I have gained a better understanding of their work and concerns. In sum, my first 100 days as Chairman can be described as eventful, challenging and gratifying. What potentials do you see in the Chinese University? Just as Hong Kong’s edge derives from its being a meeting place between the East and the West, CUHK, given its founding humanistic orientation and unswerving emphasis on bilingualism, is uniquely poised between traditional teaching and learning and modern educational paradigms to embrace the best of both worlds. Further, its unique collegiate system and emphasis on whole- person development combine to make its education the perfect answer to a fast-changing globalized world. CUHK already enjoys a good reputation in the region and worldwide and is a leader in many areas of learning and research. As Chairman, I would ensure that our policies and resource allocation would sustain its strategic development for coming challenges and successes. How do you like the CUHK campus? I joined the CUHK Council in June of last year and took an immediate liking to its campus. Its expansiveness and natural setting are such a big contrast to the urban campuses I used to know. I have visited most of the landmarks on the CUHK campus and begin to understand where the University derives its distinctive character and humanistic orientation. I’ll definitely spend more time on campus, not just in meetings but hopefully more leisurely moments when I can blend in with the environment, so to speak. 梁乃鵬博士 Dr. Norman N.P. Leung • 中文大學校董會主席 • Council Chairman 教育對你意義重大，可否說說為甚麼？ 我隨家人於1949年自東莞遷來香港，其後家道中落，我十 二歲便得出來工作養家，但我一直沒有放棄為自己爭取接受 教育的機會，總是一邊工作一邊唸校外課程和自修英文，不 時要和同事調更遷就上課時間。到了二十歲才重返校園唸中 三，之後上了香港大學，後來更赴英唸法律。教育對我個人和 對一個社會來說都是相當重要的。以我個人來說，我之所以 能克服少年的困境幹出一番事業，全賴沒有放棄接受教育的 機會。我也堅信一個社會或國家的人民若有接受良好教育的 機會，這個社會必然穩步發展。 可否談談你為內地教育出的力？ 1985年我濶別故鄉三十六年後首次重返東莞，那時東莞剛 從一個魚米之鄉轉型城市發展，我則在當時尚是香港城市理 工的校董會服務，我想為家鄉出點力，於是在1986年當上東 莞理工籌委會的副主席，東莞理工於1989年建成。我也為自 己祖居所在的萬江區金泰鄉捐助了一所幼兒園和一所小學。 中國經濟雖然近年發展迅速，但偏遠地區還有很多兒童沒有 受教育的機會，所以我的工作未有停下來。我近年為甘肅省 定西市捐助重建兩所小學，分別以我爸媽冠名誌念。我至今 贊助了一百多名學生到定西市上高中，而且和每一位都一直 保持聯絡，他們的學業成績都非常好，有些更已畢業並獲內 地一本大學取錄，令我感到非常高興。 你對香港高等教育有何看法？ 與新加坡適齡人口入讀大學比例（85％）相比，香港（60％） 尚有進步空間。政府還有很多工作可做，如八間受資助院校 應繼續增加學額，以及整合貫通不受資助院校的學士和副學 士學位課程，以提供修讀專上課程的機會予更多年青人，使 其得以達成理想，成為未來社會的棟樑。待數量有了可觀改 變，香港市民及人力資源在質素方面自然也會有所提升。 你作為校董會主席的頭一百日過得怎樣？ 我上任之時，正值大學一個諸事紛陳的時期，所以不得不馬 上全力投入工作，這些工作包括：覓選下一任大學校長；就教 資會有關大學管治報告書內的建議作出相應行動。我計劃重 設校董會下的行政委員會，頒行校董守則，領導校董會監察 大學執行今後五年的策略計劃等，此外當然還有私家醫院的 籌備工作。可幸的是，得到全體校董、各有關委員會及大學管 理層的支持，以上所有計劃都開展順利，進度良好。這段時 期我還接觸了大學、書院以及學院的管理層和職員及學生組 織，了解它們的運作和關注之事。總結來說，我在中大的頭一 百天過得相當充實、具挑戰性和令人欣慰。 你認為中大的優勢何在？ 正如香港的優勢來自其位處中西文化的接壤，中大因着其創 校的人文精神及貫徹如一的雙語政策，在傳統知識傳授與現 代教育範式之間兼容並蓄，左右逢源。此外，獨特的書院制 和全人教育理念，也使中大的教育在急遽變化的全球一體化 氛圍中更顯優勢。中大在某些教研領域已是處於領導地位， 我身為校董會主席，責任是在政策及資源調配方面，確保大 學的發展策略得以開展持續，令大學整體的成績及貢獻更上 層樓。 你喜歡中大校園嗎？ 我去年6月加入校董會，來到中大便深被其校園環境吸引， 它可謂山明水秀、地靈人傑，與我之前熟悉的城中校園截然 不同。我已經走過校園大部分地標，愈發明白中大的獨特精 神和人文關懷從何而來。我肯定會花多些時間在校園，而且 不淨是來開會，而是希望有更多閒適時間融入這裏的一草 一木。 Education seems to hold a special place in your heart. Why’s that? My family moved from Dongguan to Hong Kong in 1949. As my family fortune had taken a drastic downturn soon afterwards I had to begin working at the age of 12. But I never accepted my lot and seized every opportunity to enhance myself by attending evening school and studying English through tutorials. Sometimes I had to juggle with my work schedule and change shifts with my co-workers in order to attend evening classes. But I persisted and eventually returned to full-time studies in Form 3 at the age of 20, then went on to the University of Hong Kong and later to read law in England. Education therefore means a lot to me and to a society. Through education I was able to overcome a deprived adolescence to embark on a professional career of my choice. It is also my firm belief that a society will be on an upward trajectory of progress if its people are given the opportunity to receive good education. Tell us what you have done for education on the mainland. I went back to visit Dongguan in 1985, after an absence of 36 years, and I noticed that the city was moving from an agricultural economy to urban development. I was a council member of the then City Polytechnic of Hong Kong. I wanted to do something for my place of origin and so in 1986 I volunteered my service as the vice-chairman of the planning committee for the Dongguan Polytechnic, leading to its establishment in 1989. I also helped sponsor a kindergarten and a primary school in my native village. My efforts have not since stopped as there are still many places in China so impoverished that education is not a given there. I helped rebuild two primary schools in Dingxi City of Gansu Province and named them after my parents. I have sponsored over 100 students from poor families 08 # 4 8 3 | 1 9 . 0 9 . 2 0 1 6 Photo by Keith Hiro 口 談 實 錄 / V iva V oce