Press Releases

The University of Hong Kong is pleased to present the Honorary University Fellowships to nine distinguished individuals, in recognition of their contributions to the University as well as the whole community. They are:

1. Mr Robert Charles Allcock
2. Mr Chung Po-yang
3. Ir Dr The Hon Raymond Ho Chung Tai
4. Ms Leonie Ki 
5. Mr Colin Lam Ko-yin 
6. Dr Sarah Liao
7. Dr Lawrence M Ng
8. Ms Esther Suen Chi Lan
9. Ir Dr Allan Wong Chi Yun

The ceremony will take place at 6:00pm on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in the Rayson Huang Theatre at the main campus of the University.

At the ceremony, Dr. the Hon David K P Li, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, will present the Honorary University Fellowships to the above personalities.

Biographies of the recipients:

1. Mr Robert Charles Allcock SBS Mr Robert Charles Allcock is a former Head of the HKU Department of Law and former Solicitor General of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR Government. After working with a solicitor's firm and the Law Commission in London, he joined the then young Department of Law at the University of Hong Kong. Over the next 13 years, he was one of the most respected lecturers of the Department, served as its Head from 1984 to 1986, and help lay the foundations for it to grow and develop into the respected Faculty it is today. He was also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on Legal Education and Training, which conducted a major review on legal education from 1999 to 2002, and established common legal education policies and criteria for the law schools in Hong Kong.

2. Mr Chung Po-yang, SBS OBE JP
Mr Chung Po-yang is co-founder and currently chairman emeritus of DHL. He co-founded DHL International Ltd in 1972, which now owns and operates the DHL Worldwide Network, and covers over 227 countries. He served on the board of DHL International Ltd. Bermuda and served as Chairman of DHL International (HK) Ltd between 1972 and 2001, when it merged with the German Post Office, now Deutsche Post. His distinctive Chinese landscape paintings have been displayed and purchased by galleries and private collectors worldwide. Over the years he has been tireless in his community service activities, especially in the areas of arts and culture; management and general education; philanthropy and social entrepreneurship; promoting Hong Kong; and creativity and innovation.

3. Ir Dr The Hon Raymond Ho Chung Tai
Ir Dr The Hon Raymond Ho Chung Tai is an elected Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong SAR and represents the Engineering Functional Constituency. As an engineer, he has literally been building history for nearly five decades in both the UK and Hong Kong. Dr Ho was the President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. He has comprehensive experience in engineering work of both extraordinary scale and variety, and has also been directly involved in the design, supervision, project administration, and in some cases, the legislation of major infrastructure projects throughout Hong Kong.

4. Ms Leonie Ki, SBS JP
Ms Leonie Ki is Managing Director of New World China Enterprises Projects Ltd, a subsidiary of New World Development Co, Ltd. She was the founding Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation, and has lent her support to many community and charity services. Many institutions in the tertiary education sector have also benefited from her experience and expertise, including HKU. She has been a Member of the HKU Careers Advisory Board since 2005, and an active and enthusiastic Mentor since 1997. She has also helped New World Development initiate a New World Harvard Fellows Program that takes PRC government officials to the Harvard Kennedy School for training, and includes many notable Ministers and Directors among its alumni.

5. Mr Colin Lam Ko-yin Mr Colin Lam Ko-yin is the Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Development Co Ltd, Chairman of Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Co Ltd, a Director of Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd and Miramar Hotel and Investment Co Ltd. Today he is a respected expert in finance and property development. Mr Lam is a fervent supporter of education. In 1992, he founded the Hong Kong Chi Wah Foundation, which has since supported countless secondary schools and educational projects in Mainland China. He currently serves as a Member of HKU's Court, a Trustee of the Staff Provident Fund and a director of HKU Foundation. In 2007, the University named the Learning Commons at the new Centennial Campus the 'Colin Lam Learning Commons'. He and other HKU alumni supported the development and expansion of the Union Hospital in Shatin.

6. Dr Sarah Liao GBS MBE JP
Dr Sarah Liao is currently HKU's Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor on Sustainable Development. She is former Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works of the Hong Kong SAR Government. As secretary, Dr Liao was responsible for a vast and complex portfolio including environmental protection, transport services and safety management as well as a comprehensive public works programme. She adopted sustainable development strategies in her policies, encouraged public engagement to building strong community awareness and encouraged the usage of new technologies wherever possible. She was the senior environmental advisor to Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee from 2000 to 2008. She is an appointed member of the Chinese Council of International Cooperation on Environment and Development.

7. Dr Lawrence M Ng
Dr Lawrence M Ng is a paediatrician and the Managing Partner of the Paediatric Medical Associates of East Bay which he formed in 1990. He established his paediatric clinic in US in 1972 and started a second clinic in Oakland's Chinatown in 1982. Dr Ng has been one of HKU's most active and enthusiastic alumni. He was one of the founding members of the University of Hong Kong Alumni Association, Northern California Chapter in 1991, served as its President from 1996 to 2004 and is currently its Secretary and Board Chair. Dr Ng is also the President and a founding member of the Board of Directors of Friends of HKU Ltd, the first and only offshore fundraising arm of HKU. He was also one of the founding members of the Chinese American Physicians Society, has served on the board of directors of many professional organizations.

8. Ms Esther Suen Chi Lan
Ms Esther Suen Chi Lan is the Managing Director of Simatelex Manufactory Company Limited. Through the two Charitable Trusts established by her father, the late Mr Suen Chi Sun - the Suen Chi Sun Charitable Foundation and the Simatelex Charitable Foundation - Ms Suen continues to support many charitable causes, particularly those related to higher education, medical research, emergency relief and the arts. Over the years, Ms Suen has generously and regularly supported the research endeavours of the HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine through the Foundations. In 2005, Suen Chi Sun Hall was opened in HKU - a lasting tribute to a man who recognized the value of education from the daughter who keeps his cherished memory alive.

9. Ir Dr Allan Wong Chi Yun GBS MBE JP
Ir Dr Allan Wong Chi Yun is the Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of VTech Holdings Limited. Inspired by a vision of 'innovation and technology', Dr Wong co-founded VTech Holdings Limited in 1976. VTech has grown to become the largest supplier of corded and cordless telephones in North America and one of the world's leading suppliers of electronic learning products. Dr Wong is a Member of HKU's Council, and an Honorary Advisor of the HKU Foundation, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, and a Member of the Commission on Strategic Development under the Central Policy Unit and the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council amongst various public positions that he held.

For photos of the recipients, please download at : www4.hku.hk/honfellows/.