Mr Alex Wu Shu Chih has a distinguished record of service to the arts and community welfare which he has successfully combined over many years with an active business life that has seen him become involved in many of the territory's leading commercial enterprises.
Born in 1920 in Guangzhou, Mr Wu was educated in Shanghai and Kunming. From that beginning he has gone on to achieve prominence in Hong Kong in fields ranging from service on the Legislative Council (of which he was a member from 1975 to 1985) to the promotion of the performing arts in the Territory. He was the founding chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, which has played a major part in establishing Hong Kong on the world's cultural stage. He has also been chairman of the Council for the Performing Arts and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society.
His other contributions to the public life of the Territory include his work as a Justice of the Peace, his chairmanship of the Printing Industry Training Board of the Vocational Training Council, and his membership of the Medical Sub-Committee of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee.
Mr Wu is a firm believer in the value of extra-curricular activities in the education of the young, and is noted for his enthusiastic support of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme under which opportunities are provided for young people to become involved in social service, coupled with physical and personal development. His interest in the promotion of the study of language and humanities subjects in secondary schools led in 1982 to his chairmanship of the Working Party on the Development of a Chinese Language Foundation.
In the business world, Mr Wu has recently been elected second vice-chairman of the Council of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. He is Honorary President of the Hong Kong Printers' Association, and an Honorary Advisor to the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners. He is concurrently chairman of Fidelity Management Ltd, vice-chairman of Dai Nippon Printing Company (HK) Ltd and a director of a number of other leading companies.
For his many contributions to Hong Kong life he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1973 and the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1983.
In recognition of his services to the community, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa.
