Lingnan University to confer honorary doctorates upon five distinguished individuals
This year Lingnan University will confer honorary doctorates upon five distinguished individuals, namely Prof Liu Mingkang; Prof Jagdish N Bhagwati; Dr John Chan Cho-chak, GBS, JP; The Hon Wong Yan-lung, GBM, SC and Dr Ann Hui On-wah, BBS, MBE, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to education and the well-being of the community.
Regarded as a problem-solving expert of the Chinese banking system, Prof Liu Mingkang was repeatedly assigned to deal with major issues in times of trouble. In 1999 Prof Liu was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Everbright Group to manage the restructuring of the group’s finance and to enhance internal risk management in investment. In 2000, Prof Liu assumed the office of president of the Bank of China, where he carried out a series of bold reforms to wipe out long-standing malpractices. During the SARS outbreak in Beijing in 2003, Prof Liu stepped in again to be the first chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission to regulate China’s banking industry, which was then considered “technically bankrupt”. Pushing forward a comprehensive reform of the state-owned banking sector, he managed to strike a balance between innovation and regulation and built a regulatory system with Chinese characteristics. Prof Liu will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.
Prof Jagdish N Bhagwati is one of the world’s foremost scholars and most influential economists. He has been described as the most creative international trade theorist of his generation. While his scientific writings have influenced all aspects of international trade, Prof Bhagwati has also reached out to shape public policy, championing the cause of freer trade in particular. A native of India and a Cambridge University graduate in 1956 with a first in Economics Tripos, he has also studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford University. Prof Bhagwati returned to India in 1961, where he taught at the Indian Statistical Institute and then the Delhi School of Economics. He went back to MIT in 1968, leaving it 12 years later as the Ford International Professor of Economics to join Columbia University. Prof Bhagwati will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.
Dr John Chan Cho-chak has an impressive record of achievement and service to Hong Kong. He worked in the government for 28 years providing leadership in such posts as Secretary for Education & Manpower and Deputy Chief Secretary. Following his retirement from the civil service, he has become an important business leader. He served as the Managing Director of The Kowloon Motor Bus Company for more than a decade. The third leg of his career has been providing leadership in community service, particularly in the not-for-profit, charitable sector of Hong Kong. He is now Chairman of the Court of The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology after serving as its Council Chairman. He is also Chairman of the Council of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund, a director of The Community Chest and a member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee. Dr Chan will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa.
The Hon Wong Yan-lung was appointed Secretary for Justice in 2005 and served in that position until 30 June 2012. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1986 with a BA in Law, and was later conferred an MA in Law. In 1987, he was called to the Bar in England & Wales, as well as the Hong Kong Bar. Throughout his life and career, Mr Wong has demonstrated great integrity, as evidenced both in his professional and personal life. As only the second Secretary for Justice to serve in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Wong has a keen understanding of his role in upholding the rule of law in Hong Kong. On the personal front, he has on-going commitment to charitable organisations such as the Christian Concern for the Homeless Association. Mr Wong will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa.
Considered a fairly unorthodox director in Hong Kong who has produced 25 full-length films in the past 33 years, Dr Ann Hui’s visual language and humanistic concern reflect not only a local flavour but a global perspective as well. In the history of world cinema, Dr Hui is undoubtedly one of the best women directors in both quality and quantity. She is a filmworker who has been showered with numerous honours, including an MBE in 1997, honorary fellowships or doctoral degrees by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Institute of Education and The Open University of Hong Kong, Best Director at the Shanghai Film Critics Awards, twice at the Golden Horse Awards and four times at the Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Film Awards. Dr Hui will be conferred the degree of Doctor of Humanities honoris causa (in absentia).
The honorary doctorates will be conferred at the 43rd Congregation of Lingnan University on Thursday, 15 November 2012.