港大百年校庆校长致辞[2011-08-2409：32]speechatthehkucentenaryceremonybyprofessorlap-cheetsui，vice-chancellorofhku港大校长徐立之在香港大学百年校庆典礼上的致辞vicepremiermrlikeqiang，ministerofeducationmryuanguiren，mrchancellor，distinguishedguests，membersofthehkufamily，ladiesandgentlemen，goodmorning。and，onbehalfoftheuniversityofhongkong，iwouldliketowelcomeyoutotheuniversitythismorningand，atthesametime，thankyouforcomingtocelebratewithustheuniversity'scentenary.thelastcenturyhaswitnessedtremendouschangesinhongkong，chinaandaroundtheworld，beittechnological，economical，socialorpolitical.theuniversityhasalsomovedwiththetimesoverthepast100yearsandevolvedfromaninstitutewithonlythreeareasofstudiestoacomprehensiveuniversityofmanydisciplines.asmembersoftheinternationalacademe，wesharetheglobalchallengesattheforefrontofhighereducationdevelopments.indeed，thebirthofthisfirstandforemostuniversitywasanimportantpartofthehistoryofhongkongandchina.itwastheresultofthecombinedeffortsofthetwogovernments，inhongkongandincanton（nowguangdong），despitetheratherdelicatesino-britishrelationsinthelastyearsoftheqingdynasty.itcouldhavebeenanimpossibledream，haditnotbeenforthosewhobelievedintheneedforauniversityinhongkongandthegenerosityofthosewhowishedtoseeonebuiltforchinaandtheworld.theuniversityofhongkongwasformallyestablishedin1911;however，ithasbeenaconstantdebateamongouralumniandthec第1页共5页ommunityatlargeastowhethertheuniversityshouldbedatedbackto1887，theyearwhenthecollegeofmedicineforchinesewasestablishedinhongkong.addingtothisdebatewasthefamousquotefromdrsunyat-sen，oneofthefirstgraduatesofthecollege：hesaid，"ifeelasthoughihavereturnedhomebecausehongkongandtheuniversityofhongkongarethebirthplaceofmyknowledge."thatwaswhatdrsuntoldthestudentsinthisgreathall，backin1923.despitetheseacademicarguments，generationsofscholars，studentsandalumnihavesoshapedhkuthatithasgainedamomentumofitsown，transcendingtimeandchanges，asauniversityshould.theenlightenmentofteachingandlearningattheuniversityisnowfurtherenrichedbythewealthofgroundbreakingresearch.ourgraduateshavemovedbeyondcareersinthecivilservice，toallsectorsofsociety，andtheyhavemovedbeyondhongkong.hkuremainsaguardianofknowledge，anincubatorofideasandinnovations，acradlefornewintellectandtalent，andapioneerinsocialconsciousnessandresponsibility.indeed，universitiesareamongthemostenduringinstitutionsofanysociety;theyareitssoulandtheybringhope.itisinthisspiritthatwecelebrateourcentenaryandlookintothefuture.letmeelaboratethisfurther，inthreeaspects.first，despitevariationsoftherelationshipbetweenhongkonganditsmotherland，theuniversityofhongkonghasneverceasedtoplayitsuniqueroleincontributingtochina'smodernization.apartfromsunyat-sen，manyalumnihavecontributeddirectlytothedevelopmentofthemainlandinthepastcentury.inaddition，hkugraduateshaveplayedessentialpartsinbuildingthegreatmodernmetropolisofhongkong，whichinturnhasprovedtobeanassettoitsmother第2页共5页land.however，aschinamovesforward，hkumustassumetheresponsibilitytoplayanevenbiggerroleatahigherlevel，tosupportandfulfillthenation'seconomicandsocialneedshkumustseeandestablishitselfasakeyinstitutioninchina.second，ahundredyearsago，hkuwasalreadyaninternationalhubforintellectuals，asmost，ifnotall，oftheteacherswereexpatriatesandtwo-thirdsofthestudentswerenon-chinese.notwithstanding...
