Lingnan University confers honorary doctoral degrees upon Rex Auyeung, Geoffrey Ma and Qian Yingyi
The Honorary Doctorate Conferment Ceremony is presided over by the Honourable Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (middle), Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government and Chancellor of the University. Mr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen (left) and the Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li (right) are conferred honorary doctoral degrees.
At the 51st Congregation today (19 November), Lingnan University (LU) conferred honorary doctoral degrees upon three distinguished individuals in recognition of outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society. They were Mr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen （歐陽伯權）, a leader in the insurance field who received a Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa; the Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li （馬道立）, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal who received a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa; and Prof Qian Yingyi （錢穎一）, a distinguished economist who received a Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa (in absentia).
The Honorary Doctorate Conferment Ceremony was presided over by the Honourable Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government and Chancellor of the University.
Chief Justice Ma thanked the University profoundly on behalf of all three and praised LU as a foremost liberal arts institution for encouraging its students to think, judge, care and ultimately act responsibly in the changing circumstances of Hong Kong, the region and the world. “This ethos applies as much now as it ever did, perhaps even more so in light of the events we have witnessed within Hong Kong and worldwide in the recent past. The vision of the University is well worth bearing in mind: this is the vision of community engagement, the nurturing of students with core values and emphasising the value of a readiness to serve, going to Lingnan’s ultimate aim of (in its words) ‘the betterment of humanity’,” said Chief Justice Ma.
A graduation ceremony for undergraduates and postgraduates was held online in the morning session.
In his address to graduates, Prof Leonard K Cheng, LU President, congratulated and wished them all the best in their future careers, and encouraged them not to lose their love for Hong Kong and to help protect the values that people hold dear. “As graduates of one of Asia’s top liberal arts universities, you are well positioned to help fellow young people understand our society and our country, because you speak their language and know their thinking. This mediator role is cut out for you liberal arts graduates. Use your art of communication and analytical thinking as well as your knowledge in the history of our country and Hong Kong to help break the deadlock and bring about genuine reconciliation and healing,” he advised.
President Cheng also urged policy makers to sit down with scholars, educators and young leaders to try to understand the underlying factors that have contributed to the prolonged chaos and violence, and seek answers to prevent their recurrence.
Biographies of the Honorary Doctorates:
Mr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen, JP
Mr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen is a prominent figure in the finance and insurance sector. He was an industry leader in the insurance field until his retirement in 2017 as Chairman of the Principal Financial Group -- Asia, a FORTUNE 500 company. He is currently an independent non-executive director of the China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited, Advisor of the Nippon Life Asia Pacific (Regional HQ) Pte. Ltd. and non-executive Chairman of the MTR Corporation Limited.
Mr Auyeung is also deeply committed to higher education. He was the Chairman of Lingnan University’s Council, a council and court member of the City University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Investment Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
In addition, Mr Auyeung has an impressive record in public services. He is currently a board member of the Bo Charity Foundation (Food Angel), the convenor of the Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project, and an observer of the Independent Police Complaints Council Observers Scheme.
The Honourable Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, GBM
Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li has served the city’s Judiciary for 20 years. Before joining the Hong Kong Judiciary, Chief Justice Ma spent two decades in private practice in Hong Kong and Singapore, gaining experience in a wide range of civil-law fields, especially commercial and constitutional law.
Chief Justice Ma’s professional accomplishments are numerous. He was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal by the HKSAR Government; Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France; honorary doctoral degrees by the University of Birmingham, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong; and an honorary fellowship by Harris Manchester College at Oxford, UK.
Chief Justice Ma has made vital contributions to upholding the integrity of the judicial process in Hong Kong. He has earned wide acclaim for his longstanding service to the local and international legal communities, and his commitment to furthering public education about the law.
Prof Qian Yingyi
Prof Qian Yingyi is currently Professor of Economics in the School of Economics and Management and Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Tsinghua University. He is also the Chairman of the Founding Board of Trustees of Westlake University, a private research university founded in 2018 in Hangzhou.
A leading scholar in the areas of the transition of planned economies to market economies, Prof Qian has made great contributions to economics, China’s economic reform in general, and university education reform in particular, and his papers can often be found in top academic journals.
He won the Sun Yefang Prize in Economic Sciences in 2009, became a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2012, and in 2016, together with Prof Xu Chenggang, received the inaugural China Economics Prize, an award widely regarded as the most prestigious academic prize in economics in China, for “the contributions they made to the research of government and enterprise incentive mechanisms in the transition economy.”
Please refer to the following links for the citations and address of the Honorary Doctorates: