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Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the farewell dinner in honour of Professor Poon Chung-kwong, President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this evening (December 15) (English only):
CK (Professor Poon Chung-kwong), Vivien (Mrs Poon), distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great personal pleasure to join you this evening to celebrate the exemplary career of a man who has dedicated his life to higher education and to Hong Kong.
I first came to know Professor Poon when he joined the Legislative Council back in 1985 and also served as a Member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee. At the time I was Deputy Secretary of the General Duties Branch of the Government Secretariat, which was responsible for implementing the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Through our mutual interests and our mutual friends we have remained in touch throughout our careers.
I am delighted to see so many of CK's family and friends here to enjoy this occasion and, no doubt colleagues will be sharing a few stories from yesteryear.
First and foremost, a heartfelt "thank you" CK for your dedication and inspired leadership in education over the past four decades. We are all grateful to you for your contributions first at the University of Hong Kong and later at the Polytechnic University.
The PolyU's transition to a fully-fledged university in 1994 was an enormous challenge for all involved. Under your guidance, this transition proved to be a great success and PolyU has been able to build on its strengths as an application-oriented university.
At the same time you have won the respect of colleagues and students alike by keeping the channels of communication open and promoting good governance and academic freedom. CK's commitment to education was evident when he decided to leave Legislative Council in 1991 in order to remain politically neutral as he took up his new post as President of PolyU.
CK's reputation has extended way beyond our boundary as a former visiting professor at several universities in the United States and on the Mainland and as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Somehow, CK has also found time to pen several books on one of his favourite topics, the Buddhist art of "Heart Sutra". Although I don't have a deep understanding of Heart Sutra, I am certainly interested in the teachings and how they relate to modern day life. Heart Sutra has special relevance to education and management skills and no doubt students and colleagues have benefited from CK's knowledge of Heart Sutra over the years.
I know you are looking forward to spending more time with your family and to pursuing your interests. I wish you and Vivien well in taking forward the work of the Virya Foundation that you both founded to support and inspire low-income university students on the Mainland. I also look forward to reading your autobiography, which I know has just been published.
Once again, thank you CK for your remarkable contributions to Hong Kong over the years and I wish you every happiness in your very long retirement.
Ends/Monday, December 15, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:26
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