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...