Press Release
HKBU confers honorary doctoral degrees on four distinguished persons
Monday, 16 Nov 2020
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) held its Commencement on 15 and 16 November to confer undergraduate degrees and higher degrees on more than 14,500 graduates of the 2019 and 2020 cohorts. The University also conferred honorary doctoral degrees on four distinguished persons for their outstanding professional achievements and remarkable contributions to society.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Ng Ching-fai and Dr Harry H Y Shum were awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Dr Raymond R Wong was bestowed the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences, honoris causa. Please click here for background information on the four honorary doctoral degree recipients.
At the Commencement and Honorary Doctoral Degree Conferment Ceremony held today, Professor Roland Chin, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU said that: "In this New World of complexity and uncertainty, we need more people and leaders with a high capability to collaborate. Different countries as well as different people need to collaborate faithfully with each other. Collaboration is not just asking someone to work with you so that you can succeed. To collaborate is to uplift and enrich each other. To understand and appreciate diversity. Collaboration requires you to cast off the 'I am right and you are wrong' mind set, and shake off the 'You against Me and Them against Us' mentality."
"I appeal to the Government to take the lead and act as a role model to revive Hong Kong's long-cherished values in embracing different views and to be inclusive, treasure the voice of people with different opinions, and heal the rift and rebuild trust between people," said President Chin.
On behalf of the honorary doctoral degree recipients, Dr Harry H Y Shum expressed their sincere gratitude to HKBU for bestowing this honour upon them. He said that HKBU has played a paramount role in developing talented students in a wide variety of fields.
Dr Shum also shared his life stories and suggested to the graduates that they embrace inclusivity and diversity. "When we have differing views, we learn to be open-minded, we listen to each other, and we debate each other. Confucius says a man of virtue seeks harmony but not uniformity. It is important to be respectful so as to be respectable. I cannot agree more," he said.
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