Press Release

HKBU receives generous donation from Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation

Wednesday, 05 Jan 2022

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has received a generous donation of HK$1 million from Dr Tan Siu-lin, Founder and Chairman of the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation. The Department of History will use the donation to conduct research on Dr Sun Yat-sen.

In recognition of the Foundation's generosity, a cheque presentation ceremony was held on 4 January by HKBU. Officiating at the ceremony were Dr Tan Siu-lin, Founder and Chairman; Dr Henry Tan, President of the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation; The Hon Mr Sunny Tan, Director of the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation; Mr Li Hexie, Secretary General of the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation; Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; Professor Clara Ho, Head of the Department of History at HKBU and Mrs Lily Chan, Director of University Advancement at HKBU and Secretary-General of the HKBU Foundation. Mr Christopher Ho, Director of the Chairman's Office of the Luen Thai Group also attended the ceremony.

At the ceremony, Dr Tan said: "This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the establishment of the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation. I am grateful that the Foundation has been collaborating with HKBU to promote related research and activities to deepen the younger generation's understanding of Dr Sun Yat-sen. We hope that the pandemic can come to an end in the near future, so that the Foundation can join hands with the University to organise more activities to promote the spirit of Dr Sun Yat-sen and nurture more talents."

At the ceremony, Professor Alexander Wai expressed his deepest gratitude to Dr Tan Siu-lin for his tremendous support of HKBU's Dr Sun Yat-sen research work over the years. Since 2009, Dr Tan has made numerous donations through Luen Thai International Group Limited, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation and the Sun Yat-sen Education and Charity Foundation in support of the University's academic activities and research work related to Dr Sun Yat-sen. As of today, he has donated more than HK$6.5 million for the same purpose. In addition, Dr Tan also donated HK$1 million to establish the "Dr Tan Siu Lin Scholarship" in 2016 to honour high-achieving new history students and sponsor them to go on overseas exchanges.

The Sun Yat-sen research conducted by HKBU's Department of History aims to promote related scholarly research and activities. An array of projects have been completed, including the interactive online databases "Sun Yat-sen Parks in the World" and "Pictorial Representations of Sun Yat-sen" which have been created in collaboration with the University Library, as well as a recent exhibition on the first-day covers of Dr Sun Yat-sen.

Dr Tan Siu-lin, an HKBU Honorary University Fellowship recipient, is a successful entrepreneur and well-known philanthropist. His distinguished community service and contributions to culture and education have been highly recognised by different sectors of society. In 2017, he was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government. In 2020, he received the 15th Compassion Award from HK and Macau Taiwanese Charity Fund Limited, and he donated part of the cash prize to HKBU to support the development of the School of Chinese Medicine.

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