President Xu addressed on Grand Opening of Shaw College

       The first college of Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, the Shaw College, held the opening ceremony on September 4. Ms. Mona Fong, Chairman of the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong Limited, Professor Joseph J.Y. Sung, Chairman of the Governing Board of CUHK (SZ), Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK (SZ), Dr. Norman Leung, Chairman of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, attended the ceremony. The special guests, executives, teachers and wardens of CUHK (SZ) were also present. Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK (SZ), addressed on the ceremony.

Prof. Xu, President of  CUHK(SZ) is delivering a welcome speech.

 

Ms Mona Shaw, Prof. Joseph Sung, Dr. Norman Leung, honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen,

      

        First of all, on behalf of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, I would like to extend our warmest welcome to you, especially to our guests from The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong Limited, for attending this Opening Ceremony to witness, together with all of us, the opening of the Shaw College, the first college of this University. 

 

       Here, on behalf of all the teachers and students of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, especially those of the Shaw College, I thank Mr Run Run Shaw and Ms Mona Shaw for their generous donation, to support the long-term growth of the University in continuing our tradition of residential colleges. 

 

      Mr Run Run Shaw was a great man with a kind heart and gave love to the people all over the land. Throughout the years, he had continuously funded the educational and medical institutions in various places of our motherland. In the last twenty years or so, his donations to education in mainland China alone have amounted to several thousand projects and teaching blocks, libraries, and laboratories named “Shaw Building” are all over China. When I went to Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia, the northeastern-most city in China, I saw a Shaw Building in a primary school there. When I went to a secondary school in Altay in Xinjiang in the northwestern-most part of China, I saw a Shaw Building there too. I believe we still recall that when Mr Run Run Shaw passed away in 2014, thousands of people in China posted pictures of the Shaw Buildings in their vicinities on the Internet in China, as a silent way to pay tribute to Mr Run Run Shaw to express their gratitude for his loving care of students and his contributions to the country and society.

 

      The long-standing and close ties between Mr Run Run Shaw and The Chinese University of Hong Kong had existed for decades. In 1986, with his generous donation, he supported the University to found its fourth college – the Shaw College, thus ushering in a new era in the development of the collegiate system at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The collegiate system has been a cultural heritage at CUHK and an important way to realize the ideal of whole-person education at the University. The collegiate system education helps students to learn, outside the classroom, how to behave themselves, so that they grow up to be future citizens with a sense of participation and responsibility. At the planning period of CUHK (SZ), Mr Run Run Shaw once again gave his help to support the overall development of the initial establishment of the University. To acknowledge his contribution, we name the first college of this University the Shaw College to express our gratitude to Mr Run Run Shaw for the trust and support.

                           (From left to right) Prof. Xu, Ms. Mona Fong, Prof. Sung and Dr. Leung are unveiling the plaque of Shaw College together.

     
       To name the first college of this University the Shaw College is significant in two ways: first, it symbolizes the pioneering, enterprising and ever-growing spirit of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and marks the return of the University’s spirit to the mainland China where it blooms and bears fruit. Second, we hope the Shaw College could carry on Mr Run Run Shaw’s spirit of “striving to be lofty and charitable and giving back to society” to encourage teachers and students and boost the morale of the public so as to carry on his spirit with greater brilliance.

 

      Lastly, I sincerely hope that under the leadership of Professor Janny Leung, the College Master, all teachers, students, and staff of the Shaw College will together create a rich and splendid college culture, writing a magnificent history for the Shaw College. Here I also want to thank Prof. Joseph Sung, VC of CUHK and Prof. Kenneth Young, Chairman of Task Force on Academic Planning of CUHK (SZ) for their staunch support. And I wish Ms Mona Shaw and everyone here today good health and happy life.

     

     Thank you.