Mr Li Ka Shing, a leading Hong Kong merchant and entrepreneur, is well-known not only for his contributions to the economic growth of Hong Kong but also for his beneficence in the field of education.
He is Chairman and Managing Director of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, Cheung Kong Industrial Co Ltd and Canadian Eastern Finance Ltd. He is also Chairman of the Board of several other important Hong Kong companies, including Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and serves in an advisory capacity on a number of Government and charitable bodies including the Industrial Training Advisory Committee of the Labour Department and the Community Chest of Hong Kong. He is also President of the Junior Police Officers Association.
Mr Li's interest in the welfare of the community as well as his background in Chaozhou, where he received his secondary education, are reflected in his appointments as Director of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chinese Overseas Community, the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, and as Permanent Honorary President of the Chiu Chau Plastic Manufacturers Association.
Having missed out on a formal university education himself, Mr Li maintains a strong and active interest in higher education both in Hong Kong and in Mainland China. This University is currently benefiting from a generous donation from Mr Li in support of its Academic Staff Interchange Scheme which enables Hong Kong and Chinese academics to visit each other's institutions for research and teaching purposes.
The recent establishment of the University of Swatow (Shantou) was largely due to his generosity. Without his donations which total over $200 million, it is unlikely that the project could have been launched on its present scale. Indeed Mr Li is the first person since the inauguration of the People's Republic of China to have given such a sizable donation for the furtherance of higher education in China in general and the eastern region of Guangdong Province in particular.
Construction works for the University of Swatow started in May 1983 and were completed in September 1985. Its first students were admitted in the autumn of 1983 and there is now a broad range of courses offered with particular emphasis on economics, law and foreign languages. There is in addition a medical school.
In recognition of his services to education through his contribution to the establishment and development of the University of Swatow, and his contribution to the economic development of Hong Kong, the University has resolved to confer upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa.
