Speech by the Chief Executive Friday, July 4, 1997 The following is the speech by the Honourable Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the Gala Banquet of the International Forum of Leaders in Higher Education yesterday (Thursday) evening: Professor Chang, Professor Tien, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Thank you for the very much, I mean for all those very kind introductory remarks. I want to tell you that this is, indeed, a deep honour that anyone could dream of, and it is a unique honour for me personally. The responsibility is very deep. The future is full of challenges but I want to assure you of one thing: I will do my level best to take Hong Kong forward so that Hong Kong will be an even more successful place in the 21st century. I am greatly honoured to have the opportunity to greet so many university presidents, chancellors, vice-chancellors and accomplished scholars from around the world. About eight months ago, when I was Council Chairman of the City University of Hong Kong, H.K. asked me for my opinion about organising an International Forum on Higher Education to coincide with the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. I strongly supported his idea. I have been very busy and I really quite did not have the time to make all these decisions. But when H.K. called me, the right thing to do was to say no. But then I have a very soft spot for this University, so obviously I did it with my heart and I said yes. Indeed, there cannot be a better way to begin a new chapter in the history of Hong Kong than to focus on education in which the future of Hong Kong lies. Your presence in Hong Kong at this historic time as we move into a new era, with a new identity as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a great honour to us. It was a solemn, stately and emotional moment, as the Union Jack was lowered and the Chinese flag raised at midnight on June 30. It was a momentous and historic event, as Hong Kong was re-united with the People's Republic of China after more than one hundred and fifty-six years of separation. It is a time for celebration, and a time of pride and satisfaction, for Chinese people all over the world. For the first time in our history, people of Hong Kong are given the responsibility to manage our own affairs, under the novel concept - the novel concept - of "one country, two systems". The Basic Law, which provides the constitutional framework for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, guarantees that the existing legal, social, economic and financial systems in Hong Kong will continue. It preserves the existing freedoms and life style of the people of Hong Kong, and maps out the programme for further democratisation in Hong Kong in the future. At the inauguration of the Special Administrative Region gathering on July 1, President Jiang emphatically reaffirmed that "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with "a high degree of autonomy" will remain China's long-term basic policies towards Hong Kong. This is a solemn commitment from a great nation. We have good reasons to be optimistic that "one country, two systems" will work successfully in Hong Kong. First, Hong Kong and the Mainland have common long-term interests. China has experienced unprecedented and unsurpassed economic growth since she opened up in 1978. The continued prosperity and stability of Hong Kong will contribute to the modernisation of China which in turn will benefit Hong Kong. There are mutual economic benefits to be gained from making "one country, two systems" a success. Second, Chinese leaders have expressed complete faith in the ability of Hong Kong people in administering Hong Kong and have pledged their full support for us. They have given us a total free hand and have issued firm instructions to local authorities in the Mainland to shield us from any possible interference at all. A high level of support which is backed by visible follow-up action, is most reassuring. Third, the re-unification of Hong Kong with the Mainland is the first step towards the ultimate re-unification of the whole of China, an aspiration shared by the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people everywhere. The "Hong Kong experiment" will set an example and it is entirely within the prerogative of the people of Hong Kong and the Mainland to make this work. Fourth, 19 years ago began the uninterrupted and steady growth of the Chinese economy. The result has been astounding. The energy and vitality in China is for everyone to see. The fact is that for those who have met this generation of leaders in China, I think you will agree with me that they are well-educated, pragmatic and have a very clear vision of what the future of the country should be. In managing their economy over the last 19 years, they have demonstrated their intellectual power and their ability to lead China into the 21st century. I believe the same intellectual power and ability will ensure the smooth implementation of "one country, two systems", because it is in the fundamental national interests of China that Hong Kong succeeds in the long term. "One country, two systems" is the way we are moving forward. I am confident we will succeed. And let me assure you, I do not under-estimate the difficulties which lie ahead, but the "can do" spirit which characterises Hong Kong will carry us far and ultimately, I know, we will succeed. We have a heavy responsibility and a clear objective, that is, to build a future of excellence and prosperity for all. The future of Hong Kong rests on the quality of our young people. Our competitiveness depends on our ability to produce the manpower and the expertise necessary to sustain economic growth. Education is crucial in all these things. The education system in Hong Kong has undergone changes over the years and has served us well. Our best universities are among the top ten in the region, and our top students are among the best in the world. However, as we take on a new identity and as we move into the 21st century, this is the time to take stock and plan ahead. We have to ask ourselves: what are the goals of our education? And, what kind of a person do we want our children to become? After extensive discussion among education workers, parents and students, we have come up with this pen picture. We wish to see in our youngsters: * a sense of responsibility towards the family, the community, the country and the world; * a passion for China and Hong Kong, and a global outlook; * the ability to assimilate modern technologies and ideas, and at the same time to appreciate the fine Chinese traditions; * the strength of character, the spirit of enterprise, the desire for continuous improvement, and the versatility to cope with vagaries in life; and * the ability to differentiate and strike a balance between personal freedoms and the rule of law; rights and obligations; self-interest and social good as a whole. Ladies and Gentlemen, these are lofty ideals. It is incumbent upon the Hong Kong SAR to provide the leadership for the community to embrace these ideals and translate them into concrete practices, but we cannot expect to achieve results without the full co-operation and concerted efforts of the entire community. Education is not solely the responsibility of the Government, or the school, or the parents, or the teachers, or the principals. Together the community at large must complement each others efforts by providing the right environment for young people to appreciate, and the incentive to apply, what they have learned in school. It would confuse and disenchant our young people, for example, if they are taught a set of values in school, but do not see these values being upheld in the family or within the community. In the months ahead we will work very hard within the administration to map out our specific long-term strategy, and programme of actions, to upgrade the education system here in Hong Kong. The thrust of our strategy will be to improve the quality of basic education, particularly in the primary education area. We will extend whole-day schooling to all primary schools as soon as possible, so that teachers will have more time to interact with students. Having more time will also enable the curriculum to be re-structured to achieve more balanced and all-round development of our youngsters, covering ethics, the intellect, the physique, social skills and aesthetics. It is generally recognised that in a rapidly changing world, the role of the school is not only to impart knowledge. What is more important is to develop in our young people an inquisitive mind, communication skills, the quest for knowledge and the skills for mastering new information and learning how to learn. We will continue the effort to upgrade the standard of language teaching in Hong Kong. Our aim is for our students to master written English and Chinese and to speak fluent English, Putonghua and Cantonese. We also need a comprehensive policy on the application of information technology in education, so as to prepare our youngsters for a 21st century information age in the century ahead. The over-riding objective of our education system should be to groom all-round achievers. In this connection, we have to evaluate the current practice of streaming students into science and arts classes at Secondary three, and ask ourselves whether or not a more broad-based and integrated curriculum would achieve our objective more aptly. We have to find a way of providing a balanced assessment of a student's abilities on a continuous basis, reduce the pressure of examinations and increase the interest for learning. Our universities will also have to review the existing admission criteria for undergraduates which tend to place a lot of emphasis on academic achievements and, in particular, examination results. As Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, we must step up civic education so that our youngsters will have a better understanding of China, the Chinese culture and history, the concept of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law. Through better understanding, we hope to inculcate in them the passion, and the concern for China, the pride of being a Chinese, and a constant readiness to contribute towards the well-being of not just Hong Kong but the entire country. However, in the final analysis, we cannot expect to have good education without good teachers and principals. We look for teachers who are academically qualified, professionally competent, personally committed and caring of students. We will strengthen pre-vocational and in-service training for teachers and principals to update their teaching skills and to keep up with changing expectations. We will upgrade the professional qualification of teachers and enhance their status in this community. In the foreseeable future, I expect all new teachers for primary and secondary schools to have university degrees and professional training in education. We will set up a General Teaching Council which, among other things, will aim to enhance professional teaching standards and establish performance benchmarks. We must also promote within the community greater respect for the teaching profession, so as to attract people with good qualifications and a sense of mission to join the rank of teachers. To enable teachers to spend more time with students and pay more attention to their needs, we will continue the effort to reduce class size and the administrative burden on the teachers. We encourage diversification in the school system. We will devolve more responsibilities from government departments to the school management. The idea is to give more flexibility and discretion to the school to deploy resources and develop programmes which are most suited to the needs of the students. As a quid pro quo, we expect greater transparency and accountability from the school management to parents, teachers and students. We also expect all schools to put in place a fair and open appraisal system for principals and teachers. In the area of tertiary education, the emphasis in recent years has been to move away from quantity to quality and efficiency. We will continue to move in this direction. We will also pursue the development of areas of excellence within tertiary institutions. The aim is to build upon existing strengths and invest in state-of-the-art facilities to produce programmes which will be recognised internationally. Universities should also be encouraged to attract more talented and accomplished scholars from outside of Hong Kong so as to provide a pool of talents in all subject areas to meet the long-term needs of Hong Kong. In particular, our universities should be encouraged to play a more proactive role than they have hitherto, to assist in the development of 21st century industries in Hong Kong and to keep Hong Kong at the forefront of the new age. Some of the areas of excellence could well be in areas which are of direct interest to industry and commerce, and more of the research funding should be devoted to applied research and commercialisation of the research products. Our universities shoulder the responsibility of nurturing our future leaders. University students should be encouraged to pursue extra-curricular activities and develop interpersonal and communication skills. We will encourage academic exchanges, including student exchange programmes with overseas institutions so as to give our students a better appreciation of other cultures and a global outlook. We believe Hong Kong should aim to attract more talented students from China and, indeed, from other countries to study at our universities. This will increase the diversity of our student body and expand our networking capacity. In the near future we shall review the academic system. We shall re-assess the optimum period of study for the various stages of education and their interface, including primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education. We must ensure that the academic programme in Hong Kong is tailored to suit Hong Kong's future needs. I have outlined an ambitious programme. It is a programme which must evolve through intensive discussion amongst members of the Executive Council and the Policy Secretaries. I know this ambitious programme will take years to implement, and maybe a couple of more years to see results. And all of you will have your chance to follow it. We have to work out our priorities and plan the resources. But let me tell you: we will do it, because we know in education lies our future. My vision for the 21st century is : * to see a well-educated population, proud of our Chinese heritage, confident in our destiny and global in outlook; and * for Hong Kong to become an international education and scientific research centre. I understand that you have had a good meeting in Hong Kong today. I am very proud that City University has been able to organise this gathering here in Hong Kong. But I hope you also had time to enjoy some of the festivities over the past three days. And for those who are overseas, I welcome you to come back to Hong Kong, as often as you can, to see for yourselves how Hong Kong continues to thrive and flourish under the administration of the Hong Kong people.