Lingnan University to confer Honorary Fellowships upon four distinguished individuals

22 Oct 2020

Lingnan University (LU) will confer Honorary Fellowships upon four distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their professions and their valuable contributions to the society.

 

The Honorary Fellowship recipients are:  Kung Fu master Mr Ip Chun葉準, arts advocator Mr David Pong Chun-yee(龐俊怡), IT pioneer Dr Winnie Tang Shuk-ming鄧淑明, and music virtuoso Mr Jaap Van Zweden(梵志登).

 

Biographies of the Honorary Fellowship recipients:

 

Mr Ip Chun

Kung Fu master Mr Ip Chun was the elder son of Mr Ip Man(葉問), the grandmaster of Wing Chun martial arts. Mr Ip separated from his father when he was 14 years old until he came to Hong Kong at the age of 38 to be reunited with him. Although Mr Ip had never practiced Wing Chun when he was young, he grasped the function and execution of each move and its role in the form by listening to his father’s explanations when his disciples came over to practice. He quickly mastered the secret techniques of Wing Chun.

 

In the 1980s, Mr Ip began his international martial arts teaching career. He made a few trips overseas a year to pass on the wisdom of Wing Chun and promote Chinese culture. From 2001 onwards, Mr Ip started to take Wing Chun back to China by touring and lecturing in the mainland.

 

Mr Ip is celebrated worldwide for his role in upholding the proud tradition of Ip Man Wing Chun, an essential part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong in particular and Chinese culture in general.

 

Mr David Pong Chun-yee, JP

Mr David Pong Chun-yee is the Director of Shiu Wing Steel Limited. He is well-known for his remarkable contributions to public service in the visual and performing arts field, including as Member of the Board of Directors of the Tai Kwun Culture and Arts Company Limited; Board Member of the visual culture museum M+ and Member of its Acquisitions Committee; Advisor to the Our Hong Kong Foundation; and Chairman of The Ink Society.

 

Mr Pong works as a director of companies that play an important and often unique role in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. As a director of DXD Group Limited, he is helping the municipal government of Zhaoqing — the largest of the 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area — with a pilot “smart city” project. In addition, he is building on his experience in the television broadcasting industry and launching a new media platform called “Highyun” for popular culture in the GBA.

 

Mr Pong was appointed Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government and awarded an Honorary Fellowship from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts for his contributions to Hong Kong.

 

Dr Winnie Tang Shuk-ming, JP

Dr Winnie Tang Shuk-ming is an innovative entrepreneur and currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hong Kong. She has dedicated her professional knowledge and experience to serving the community through the Information and Communications Technology, environmental and smart city advocacies, and support for start-ups.

 

Since 2005, Dr Tang has played a leading role in establishing various non-governmental organisations, including the eHealth Consortium; the Conservation E3 Foundation; the Smart City Consortium; and the Asia eHealth Information Network, to promote the deployment of technology in our daily lives. She also displayed leadership in developing the “SARS Global Map” in 2003 and, more recently, the “Interactive Map Dashboard” for the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, both of which have received global acclaim.

 

Dr Tang has earned wide acclaim for her significant contributions to the community. In 2006, she was recognised as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Hong Kong. In 2009, she was appointed Justice of the Peace by the HKSAR Government, and named Distinguished Alumna by HKU Faculty of Science.

 

Mr Jaap Van Zweden, SBS

World renowned Dutch conductor Mr Jaap van Zweden has been the Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) and the New York Philharmonic since 2012 and 2018 respectively. Under his leadership, the HK Phil was the first Asian orchestra to have garnered the Gramophone Orchestra of the Year award in 2019.

 

A violinist by training, Mr van Zweden became the first violinist of the prestigious Dutch Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra when he was just 19. He turned to conducting in his late 30s, and was the Chief Conductor of the Royal Flemish Orchestra and Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

 

Mr van Zweden aims to cut across the boundaries of genres and generations, demonstrating his openness to music as diverse as Lady Gaga and techno. In 1997, he established the Papageno Foundation with his wife to promote the practice and research of music therapy for autistic individuals.

 

Mr van Zweden has recently been awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government for his achievements and contributions to the performing arts in Hong Kong.