Starting a new chapter after retirement
A farewell party was held on 18 June for more than 50 members of staff who are retiring from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), in appreciation of their contributions over the years and to wish them a new and enriched life after retirement.
At the farewell party, Professor Freddy Boey, CityUHK President, encouraged the retirees to maintain their social life, saying, "I wish everyone good health and hope you will move forward with beautiful memories. You are always welcome to come back and visit us".
Among this year’s retirees is Professor Charlie Xue Qiuli, from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, who joined CityUHK in 1995. At that time, Prof Xue didn't know how long he would stay in Hong Kong, but in what seems like a blink of an eye, he ended up spending a total of nearly 29 years at CityUHK.
He pointed out that many of the students he taught in the past came from underprivileged families and had no opportunity to go outside Hong Kong, but he gave students the opportunity to visit unique architecture in mainland China and Europe. He felt honoured to help cultivate them into professional architects and surveyors.
He added that although the CityUHK campus is small, it is located in the city centre, which is not only convenient for arranging visits to nearby community buildings, but also strengthened his ambition to serve society. Professor Xue worked in Shanghai and the United States before joining CityUHK, but said that working at CityUHK was the most efficient and effective.
Another retiree is Mr Fung Ping-yan, Campus Management Manager of the Facilities Management Office, who has served CityUHK for 33 years. He thanked the University for providing a good work environment for employees to develop and keep up with the times, such as allowing him to go to the United States to learn about advanced security systems. Over the years, Mr Fung has witnessed the increasing scale of CityUHK, which has now expanded to Dongguan and Chengdu.
In 1997, he received an outstanding employee award, and he jokingly said that he used the prize money to buy a car at the time because his security work required him to be on standby 24 hours a day. Even if an emergency occurred in the middle of the night, he had to rush back to the campus to deal with it immediately, so a car was very important to him. Mr Fung mentioned that during the pandemic, all colleagues responded immediately and worked together to go through it smoothly. He especially thanked management and colleagues for their support.
The farewell party was organised by the Human Resources Office. Attending the party were Professor Lee Chun-sing, Provost and Deputy President; Professor Michael Yang Meng-su, Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise); Professor Chan Chi-hou, Vice-President (Community Engagement); Mr Sunny Lee Wai-kwong, Vice-President (Administration); Professor Cheng Shuk-han, Associate Vice-President (Research); Miss Maggie Chau Choi-ying, Associate Vice-President (Administration) and Director of Finance; and Ms Kit Chow Kit-yi, Director of Human Resources.