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Following is the speech by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joseph W P Wong, at the Annual Scholarships Award Ceremony 2001-2002 at the Hong Kong Shue Yan College today (April 26):

Dr Hu, Dr Chung, Teachers, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to be present at this Annual Scholarships Award Ceremony of the Hong Kong Shue Yan College.

Since founded by Dr Hu and Dr Chung in 1971 with their own resources, the Hong Kong Shue Yan College has been dedicated to providing well-balanced education, cultivating our younger generation under the ethos of "Promotion of Virtues, Mastery of Knowledge". The College has developed from a private school into a fully-fledged tertiary institution as it is today, grooming batch after batch of talent for various services in the community. Its success, seen by all, is due to the selfless devotion of Dr Hu and Dr Chung, the concerted effort of the entire teaching and administrative staff of the College and the support from the enthusiastic members of the public, among them are the guests here today.

Upon validation by the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation last year, the College was given approval to run four courses leading to bachelor's degrees with honours. Its emergence as the first private tertiary institution in Hong Kong to award bachelor's degrees with honours reflects the recognition of its academic standards. This is Shue Yan's first step towards the goal of upgrading itself into a private university. May I wish the College further successes in acquiring validation and early achievement of this goal.

Over the past thirty years, Dr Hu and Dr Chung have been working unrelentingly against all odds to develop the College. Their esteemed devotion to education reminds me of a poem by Zheng Banqiao, which goes:

Fast the bamboo holds to the mountain,

Taking roots through rocks ragged and rotten.

Against wear and tear it strengthens with determination,

Unfaltering in the face of gales from any direction.

Without government subvention, the College is lacking in finance, but inspired with the lofty ideals and life-long commitment of educationists. In thirty years it has proved its extraordinary vitality. Despite all obstacles, this tenacious seed has taken root and sprouted shoots through rock crevices and grown up into a tree that now stands in pride.

The success of the Shue Yan College lies in its firm goal of promoting education, training up the younger generation to serve the community. It has been continually improving its campus facilities, enhancing the quality of its teachers and students, actively exploring scope for further development, winning recognition and support from the public. Perseverance is essential not only for an educational mission, but also for the pursuit of knowledge and conducting oneself in society. The advice I would like to give to students is that what we must have is not an overwhelmingly high aspiration, but a clear goal plus a persistent quest for the goal. Our goal gives us the drive. Once we have decided on our goal, we must put our hearts to it and go for it whatever difficulties and setbacks we may encounter. Only thus can we surmount the various challenges in our lives and embark on the road to success.

I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the award winners today. You all have proved yourselves to be promising youngsters with outstanding performance both in the academic field and in conduct. I sincerely hope that you would live up to the expectations of those who support you, value the training that the College gives you, and make use of your time here to enrich your knowledge, broaden your horizon and improve your competitiveness. I am sure that upon graduation from the College in future, you will be able to pay back the community which has nurtured you, and promote the Confucian spirit which is embodied in this saying: "A man of humanity, wishing to establish himself, also establishes others, and wishing to be prominent himself, also helps others to be prominent." May you all lead meaningful lives.

Thank you.

End/Friday, April 26, 2002

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