City University of Hong Kong (CityU) named Student Hall 5 after Dr Chan Sui Kau at a ceremony today (12 April) in appreciation of Dr Chan’s contributions to the development of CityU and education in Hong Kong.

Dr Chan, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist, has been heavily involved in promoting industrial development in Hong Kong and supporting education in Hong Kong and mainland China for decades.

Speaking at the Chan Sui Kau Hall Naming Ceremony, Dr Norman Leung Nai-pang, Pro-Chancellor of CityU, commended Dr Chan for his generosity. “Numerous donations have been made on his or his family’s behalf to schools and universities in Hong Kong and mainland China, with the aim to enhance our human resources. I am particularly grateful for the support he has given to whole-person education. This support enables us to produce a new breed of graduates with well-rounded personalities,” Dr Leung said.

Dr Chan hailed CityU as a young and dynamic university that deserves greater support from the wider community. “Every time I attend meetings or activities at CityU, I sense the energy of the students and staff. I fully support the whole-person education philosophy of CityU because it encourages students to pursue academic excellence and to perform well in spiritual, intellectual, physical, social, aesthetic, career and emotional development. I hope to help CityU develop a great variety of student-based activities through my humble contributions,” Dr Chan said.

In his vote of thanks, Professor H K Chang, President of CityU, revealed his long-standing friendship with Dr Chan, one that allows them to share candid views on important issues, and he expressed his heartfelt thanks to Dr Chan for his timely donations.

“Dr Chan is widely acclaimed for his contributions to society, in particular to the development of education,” Professor Chang said. “I am delighted to have his support for our education philosophy. My gratitude goes particularly to his pledge to support our ‘Bridge to Success Project’ soon after the Government announced the second matching grant scheme last year. His promise greatly encouraged our fund-raising efforts,” Professor Chang said.

The ‘Bridge to Success Project’ is an educational advancement project which aims to engage leaders of society in activities that put students onto the path of success. Funds raised by the Project will be allocated to the development of student services such as scholarship awards, internship schemes, study exchanges and whole-person development activities.

At the ceremony, student representatives from Chan Sui Kau Hall presented Dr Chan with a painting emboldened with the message “You are the Enlightening Beacon”. Written in Chinese, English, German, Korean and Indian languages, the work signifies the characters of Chan Sui Kau Hall: cultural diversity and cross-cultural goodwill. After the presentation, student representatives invited Dr Chan to a cake-cutting ceremony that celebrated the ‘birth’ of the Hall.

In the evening, Professor Chang and Dr Chan attended the Hall’s annual High Table Dinner, which was organized by residential students under the theme One World (齊家). Professor Chang told students at the beginning of his keynote speech that no better theme could be chosen. “This is a globalized world and we live in a global village. But I believe we are joining the family of humanity not to forget our own roots and traditions, but to add our own theme,” he said.

齊家 (One World) means, according to Professor Chang, keeping the family intact. He is convinced that the Chinese cultural tradition, in particular family values, is very much needed around the world today. “I cannot think of a better practitioner, a better believer in the concept of 齊家 (One World) than Dr Chan. Therefore we are very proud to name one of our Halls in his honour. I hope, in due time, the Chan family will be proud that they have made this major contribution to CityU because of our students’ contributions to society,” he said.

Hall residence is part of the University’s efforts to provide student-based education. By letting students study and live in a culturally diverse environment, the University wishes to help students further enhance their communication and people skills and develop a broad knowledge base to cope with future challenges. Presently, CityU has 10 student hostels with a capacity to accommodate a total of about 3,000 students. Chan Sui Kau Hall has 318 student residents, one-third of whom are non-local.