Bulletin Number Four 1987

trial community. There is an urgent need to build up strong, meaningful bridges from the Hong Kong hub to the rest o f the world, as China gradually moves forward to play an important part in international trade, commerce and culture. As Hong Kong becomes fu lly conscious o f this unique opportunity, it w ill rapidly gear up to serve the world, and CUHK w ill also have its role to play. Preliminary contacts w ith some twenty industries and universities that I made in the USA, UK and Japan during these last few months give me encouragement. Many expressed interest in developing meaningful ties to CUHK since they see us as an important factor in their efforts to link up w ith Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. To fu lfil our responsibility, we surely need to keep up our fine academic traditions; to preserve and promote our Chinese cultural heritage, to attain excellence, and to pay close attention to societal needs. In particular, our bilingual curriculum w ill more than ever facilitate the cross-cultural develop­ ment o f Hong Kong; it w ill be a crucial advantage for establishing connections w ith China and w ith the international community. Graduated w ith such a cross-cultural education, our students w ill be able to bridge the cultural and language gaps between them. In my opinion, an expansion o f postgraduate studies is also o f great importance to this University in the course o f its development. It is important in a number o f ways. It helps to meet the increased demand in this geographical area for manpower w ith advanced knowledge. It enables the staff, supervising an increased number o f PhD level students, to be more productive in research as well as to remain current in their area of expertise. It promotes aca­ demic cooperation and helps the establishment of links to industry and society. No first-rate university can do w ithout major research efforts, and our research student body must be increased. The expansion o f postgraduate studies has been gradual at CUHK in recent years. The ratio o f PhD to Master students has been growing, and the recruitment o f students from Hong Kong has improved. The number of visiting scholars and postdoctoral fellows on campus is also on the increase. Continuing efforts to recruit graduate students from Hong Kong and neighbouring areas w ill substantially increase the talents available for creative academic work, and our excellent teaching staff w ill get a boost in their research efforts. It is also gratifying to note that Government and industry are now willing to allocate ever greater resources to research, and have become fu lly aware o f the urgency in increasing up-to-date and well qualified manpower both through retaining and by increasing the number o f graduates w ith higher degrees, who are capable o f making fu ll use of latest technology advances to develop commerce and industries here in Hong Kong. External sources o f funding also appear to be opening up and we intend to pursue such possibilities vigorously. This w ill strengthen the position o f our research efforts and at the same time build up important links among all those concerned. Our good performance in all the faculties is well recognized here and abroad. Many areas have gained excellent reputation. This is in keeping w ith the precept that a university must maintain abalanced development which would stimulate intellectual cross-flow. However, in an imperfect world, not all our subjects can be equally strong, and we must ex­ plore and build on our strengths. We should have at least one if not several subjects that can claim a world renown status. During this period the University w ill encounter significant challenge as to how to increase our excel­ lent staff. Presently Hong Kong is expanding existing universities and other tertiary institutions at a rapid rate and it w ill soon have a third university, all re­ cruiting heavily. The competition for potential staff w ill be severe. We, therefore, have to prepare for this by making a stronger recruitment effort, and by ex­ ploring the possibility o f more flexible arrangements by which a more mobile staff can feel at home working w ith us. It is easy to see that our emphasis on research and external links w ill be totally com­ patible w ith and supportive o f this approach. For it to work, this University must provide world standard research opportunities. Then we can attract the best to come to join us, since their career in fact w ill be enhanced by their stay w ith us. I f we are able to per­ suade eminent people such as Professor C.N. Yang to come, we should certainly be able to attract a host of others. Our high-spirited students, who display such zeal, enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity, our devoted academic and administrative colleagues, our many benefactors w ith their generous supports give me the confidence and ease o f mind to take on this exacting and daunting task as your Vice-Chancellor. Together we w ill attain the goals which we shall set for our­ selves through a careful process o f deliberation and wide consultation. In closing, may I take the opportunity to thank you for attending this ceremony. I would also want to express my special thanks to the many distinguished overseas guests who travelled far and wide and Hong Kong representatives o f many overseas organizations for their presence here. Your encouragement is well appreciated. Thank you. 5