Honorary University Fellows
Ms Belinda Kwai Yi Hung was born and raised in Hong Kong. From a young age, she learnt of the importance of education from her parents and from the sisters of Maryknoll Sisters’ School, where she was a student.
Ms Hung pursued her university education in the US and graduated from Humboldt State University, California, with a BA degree in Sociology. She gave up her dream of pursuing postgraduate studies in pre-school education and returned to Hong Kong to help her parents with their family business.
She joined Caritas Hong Kong as a social worker in 1975 and has served in a number of social welfare posts, including two years as head of the Resettlement Counselling Programme for Vietnamese Refugees at the Hong Kong UNHCR office, as well as fundraising, publicity, and other senior administrative posts.
She resigned from Caritas Hong Kong in 1997 and returned to the family’s company to take up the position of Dealing Director. However, she decided to retire early to learn more about government policies and women’s development in Mainland China. She enrolled in the MAPPS programme at the University of British Columbia and received a Master’s degree in Asia Pacific Policies Studies in 2005.
Ms Hung is a co-founder of the Hung Hing Ying and Leung Hau Ling Charitable Foundation. Since 2006, she has supported some 200 high school students each year from needy families in remote villages in Guizhou and Shaanxi in their quest to attend tier one universities in Mainland China. At HKU, she has established the Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities and the Hung Hing-Ying Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Science and Technology.
Citation delivered by Professor Shew Ping CHOW, Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Ms Belinda Hung Kwai Yi was born and raised in Hong Kong. She holds a BA degree in Sociology from Humboldt State University in California, US, and a Masters degree in Asia Pacific Policies Studies from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Ms Hung joined Caritas Hong Kong as a social worker in 1975 and has served in a number of social welfare posts, including, inter alia, two years as head of the Resettlement Counselling Programme for Vietnamese Refugees at the Hong Kong UNHCR office. She would later turn her focus onto government policies and women’s development in Mainland China.
From an early age, Ms Hung learnt the importance of education from her parents, and that they taught her this by example, as Hung Hing Ying孔慶熒 and Hung Leung Hau Ling孔梁巧玲 were both great believers in the endeavours of this University, and their relationship with us goes back many years.
In her turn, Ms Hung founded the Hung Hing Ying and Leung Hau Ling Charitable Foundation, and is its Director.
Since 2006, she has supported some 200 high school students each year from needy families in remote villages in Guizhou (貴州) and Shaanxi (陝西) in their quest to pursue higher education. She also conducts annual school and home visits, travelling to Guizhou and other remote areas, to get to know the scholarship recipients.
She has actively participated in various educational projects and charitable activities in partnership with universities and social welfare organizations.
At HKU, Ms Hung has continued the fine tradition set by her parents, and has established the Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities, which has granted such fine writers as Professor Lung Ying-tai (currently Minister of Cultural Affairs of Taiwan) the time and creative space to pursue their literary projects.
Together with the Hung Hing-Ying Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Science and Technology, which Ms Hung also set up, this collective support has greatly enhanced the University’s research and scholarship.
As a Director of the HKU Foundation, Ms Hung has a genuine interest in academia and is always ready to support worthy initiatives of the University.
I am aware that the phrase noblesse oblige is considered somewhat unfashionable nowadays. But if we were to simply rephrase it as “with great privilege, comes great responsibility”, then I believe this is a duty that Ms Hung has certainly discharged with great distinction.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Ms Belinda Hung Kwai Yi for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of her contributions to Hong Kong and academia.