Mr Chairman, Honoured Guests, Honorary Graduates, Award Recipients, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all of you who are here today to participate in our eighth Congregation.

As many of you are aware, the University is celebrating its 65th Anniversary this year. In commemoration of this important milestone, we have organised a series of festive activities since March for staff and students, alumni and members of the public. Looking back over the years, our Institution has gone through four important stages of development. The origin of this Institution can be traced back to 1937 with the founding of the Government Trade School. Situated in Wood Road, Wanchai, the School was the first publicly funded post-secondary technical institution in Hong Kong, with about 200 students enrolled in classes run by three departments. After the second World War, the School was renamed the Hong Kong Technical College in 1947. Ten years later, the College moved into its new premises in Hung Hom, which formed the basis of this Institution. The Hong Kong Polytechnic was formally established in August 1972, taking over the campus of the Hong Kong Technical College. Since then, the Polytechnic has undergone extensive development and rapid expansion. After gaining approval for self-accreditation, the Institution finally attained full university status in 1994. As our anniversary slogan puts it, we are justly proud of our 65 years of education and innovation and our 200,000 alumni are truly the pillars of our community.

Over the years, the University has been committed to meeting the needs of the community by grooming professional manpower; conducting applied research and rendering support to enhance the competitiveness of commerce and industry. Our mission is what it has always been, and we are committed to preserving the distinct character and ethos of this Institution in what we do. In preserving the application-oriented flavour of our programmes, research and services to the community; we also seek to groom high calibre and all-round graduates to meet the challenges of this century.

This year we have conferred honorary doctoral degrees upon four distinguished personalities and University Fellowships on another 10 outstanding persons in recognition of their distinguished achievements in different areas. Taking this opportunity, I wish to pay tribute to all our honorary graduates who are here today. Your gracious presence today means a great deal to us, because your personal accomplishments have set a fine example and a lofty goal for our graduates to follow.

Although today's Congregation is a joyous occasion for all of us, I, however, have noticed that many graduates and their family members are deeply worried about the future of Hong Kong. To extricate ourselves from this difficult position and resurrect the vitality for Hong Kong, we must change our mindset — we must do away with Hongkongers' deep-rooted “Small-island mentality” or the self-centred frame of mind of the people of Hong Kong. Today, we must realise that Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China. In fact, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are so closely related that the two places are influencing each other in many areas, such as economic development, lifestyle, educational development as well as cultural exchanges. Take our economy as an example, locally listed mainland enterprises raised more than $343 billion in the Hong Kong stock market in 2000. Hong Kong is also the largest source of non-local investment for the Guangdong province. With a total investment of nearly HK$616 billion up to late 2001, local companies account for nearly 70 per cent of the non-local investments in the province. Moreover, 85 per cent of our total exports are connected with the mainland. In the areas of finance and tourism, Hong Kong is also closely integrated with the Chinese mainland. Therefore, we should not confine our ambitions within the territory. Instead, we should seek further integration with the motherland. We are not only citizens of Hong Kong, but also bona fide Chinese. Just as the citizens of New York and Paris are proud of the cities that they are living in as well as their motherland, we should feel equally proud of having a stable and prosperous motherland which has a long and distinguished cultural and historical heritage. Indeed, our future hinges on the support of the motherland as much as the co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland. We should therefore never overlook the well-being of both Hong Kong and the mainland in what we do, and try our very best to support the advancement of the country as a whole.

In the face of a changing economy and the fast-paced integration with the motherland, the territory's higher education institutions should also review their positions and take appropriate measures.

In the first place, I must stress that The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, just like other sister institutions in Hong Kong, is mindful of its role as a member of China's higher education sector since the reunification. We are grooming graduates not only for Hong Kong, but also for the benefit and well being of China and the world. We must, at the same time, strengthen our international dimension so that we can continue to play our vital role as a bridge between East and West.

Earlier on, I have mentioned the integration of economic affairs between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. As a matter of fact, it is equally important to strengthen collaboration between tertiary institutions in these two regions. In the next few years, we will forge ahead with the plan of developing PolyU as a leading international provider of professional-oriented education in southern China. We will also seek to further strengthen our ties with mainland and overseas institutions in the areas of curriculum design and research collaboration, with the ultimate objective of grooming talents for both Hong Kong and the motherland.

It is the responsibility of this University and the whole academic community to equip our younger generation with modern knowledge and techniques as well as a global outlook. To fulfil this lofty ambition, I believe our first and foremost tasks are to broaden the horizons of our students, strengthen their ability to think, sharpen their social awareness, build up their sense of responsibility, and deepen their understanding of the motherland, the Asia Pacific region and the world as a whole. Therefore, we must make sure that they will be able to rise to the challenge in whatever career they choose. An ideal PolyU graduate should be truly biliterate and trilingual. They should have good communication skills and a broad international outlook. They should be able to think independently, have analytical powers and the ability to solve problems, innovate and learn. They should also have a keen social awareness, a spirit of initiative and teamwork, as well as leadership skills.

In order to achieve the objective of grooming preferred graduates for both Hong Kong and the motherland, we must implement a series of forward-looking measures. On the one hand, our tertiary institutions must continue to admit more non-local students. At the same time, to enable our young people to broaden their outlook and achieve a fuller integration with China, we can encourage local students to pursue further studies on the Chinese mainland. The increase in non-local students will bring in more talents and extra revenues for the tertiary education sector, and I believe this bilateral flow of students will be most conducive to the further development of higher education in Hong Kong.

To support the rapid development of our country, we have set up outpost centres in Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai with training courses targeted at executives and managers working for Hong Kong as well as mainland enterprises. I am pleased to say that, at today's Congregation, the University will be presenting awards to graduates from our teaching outposts in Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chongqing. They include 12 recipients of the Master of Science in Quality Management, 21 recipients of the Master of Science in Hotel and Tourism Management; 34 recipients of the Master of Science in Project Management, 125 recipients of the Higher Diploma in Enterprise Management and 14 recipients of the Higher Diploma in Fashion and Textile Merchandising. Among them, 200 graduates have travelled to Hong Kong for the purpose of joining this Congregation. In extending the warmest welcome to our mainland graduates, I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Zhejiang University and Chongqing University for their support over the years. I also hope that we can further strengthen our collaboration with mainland institutions. Together, we can groom a greater number of quality graduates to meet the needs of the motherland.

More recently, we have joined hands with Xi'an Jiaotong University to set up the Xi'an Tongli International College, the International Enterprise Service Centre and the International Enterprise Incubator Centre. Not only has this initiative pulled together the resources of both institutions in supporting the national policy of Western development, but also empowered our entrepreneurs to grasp the business opportunities that arise. Building on our collaboration with Xi'an Jiaotung University, we will be able to better understand the changing business environment after China's accession to the World Trade Organisation, and help our enterprises seize this golden chance of expanding their businesses.

In achieving further integration with the motherland, particularly the Pearl River Delta region, and upholding the principle of “One Country Two Systems”, we must, under the leadership and support of the Government, seek to close up the gap of our cultural differences and strengthen our collaboration in areas such as financial services, transport, logistics, tourism and environmental protection. We must build up a mutually beneficial partnership with the region and complement one another.

On the other hand, we should build on the foundation of Hong Kong as an international city and China's gateway to the world, and tap on the vast resources and huge market of China. In fact, our motherland has provided us with special tax exemption and relieved our duties in shouldering the expenses of national defense and foreign affairs. These measures have surely relieved our responsibilities and helped sustain the continuous growth of our economy. The key task of our entrepreneurs, in addition to maintaining the export market, is to establish a stronger foothold in the mainland market. In so doing, we will be able to create more outlets for our products.

We are pleased to learn that apart from setting up a design centre, our honorary graduate Dr Henry Tang, in his capacity as the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology of the SAR Government, is working vigorously on plans to further develop Hong Kong's leading edge in the areas of fashion, information technology and innovative technology. Since our Institute of Textiles and Clothing is the territory's sole provider of tertiary education in this discipline, and we have achieved a good reputation over the years, I would like to express my views, in the presence of Dr Tang, on the prospects of establishing Hong Kong as a fashion centre.

In developing Hong Kong into a world class fashion centre, we should not be carried away with the short-term profits of manufacturing for foreign brands. More importantly, we should build on our strength of integrating the finest qualities of both Eastern and Western fashion cultures, unleash our creativity in design and make full use of the internal market in China, and establish and expand our own brand names. All in all, the successful development of a fashion centre must be founded on a solid base which covers materials research, design, branding as well as marketing. Moreover, we should further strengthen our collaboration with mainland research institutes to achieve breakthroughs in material and production technology. I believe the Government should try its best to support the further advancement of our garment industry in the mainland market, both in terms of securing a market share and establishing the credibility of Hong Kong's brands. If our brands can establish themselves in the mainland and global markets, buyers and tourists will flock to Hong Kong to buy our fashion products; and this in turn will further boost our tourism industry. The “Milano Project” implemented by the Korean Government has completely revived its traditional fashion industry. This project is so successful that the whole industry has revamped itself to reach new heights in production, design, marketing and branding. In Hong Kong, our Institute of Textiles and Clothing is staffed with local and overseas experts and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. If the Government is to develop Hong Kong into a fashion centre, we will be well poised to take part in this development by rendering our expertise and professional services. As far as other centres are concerned, I hope that the Government can adopt an open attitude in mapping out its plans for future development. We at PolyU will be more than happy to participate in the process.

Although Hong Kong is in the midst of an economic downturn, I urge all our graduates to have faith in yourselves. With the onset of globalisation, you must not feel uneasy and anxious when faced with competition from graduates of different nations. I am confident that during your years at the University, you have tried your best to master the professional knowledge you require, to strengthen your character and to increase your self-confidence, and I am sure that you are prepared to face future challenges with optimism and with strength in the face of adversity. More importantly, you have enhanced your competitiveness and gained valuable experiences through participation in various University's activities such as the Leadership and Competence Programme and the ‘Preferred Graduate' Development Programme. In an age of rapid change, old ideologies, norms and values are subject to challenges from time to time. It is incumbent upon universities to make use of various means to upgrade our professional education, and at the same time inculcate a strong moral sense in our students so that they are fully aware of the significance of professional ethics before graduation. It is also important that they are able to think independently and abide by what is right, and not blindly follow the multitude.

Last but not least, I wish to share with you the heart-touching story of Japanese celebrity Mr Hirotada Ototake. Mr Ototake was born in 1976 with tetra-amelia, a congenital condition that left him with almost no arms or legs. However, he does not put the blame on destiny, nor has he surrendered to self-pity. He leads a normal life and completed tertiary education at Japan's prestigious Waseda University. As he always says, “Disability is just a physical feature of my body, there is no need to be worried about it.”
Although Mr Ototake is confined to a wheel-chair most of the time, he is full of creativity and enjoys life as much as he can. His admirable courage and positive attitude towards life is truly inspiring to our students, who are faced only with momentary obstacles in life. As Mr Ototake says in his own book: “Life is a gift from heaven, each and every one of us should live life in all its fullness, take pride in his own strengths, and look to life challenges with might and dignity.” In closing, I sincerely wish you, our graduates, all the best in your future endeavours. I earnestly hope that you can be as courageous as Mr Ototake, and that you will turn every crisis into an opportunity, overcome obstacles with optimism, and create a bright future for yourselves, your families, the community and the motherland.

Thank you.

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