HKU alumni Dr Margaret Chung Wailing (BSc 1980; PhD 1987), Dr Albert Ko Wing-yin (MPhil 2004; PhD 2006) and Dr Poon Tak-lun (MBBS 1982) have been chosen to receive this year's Hong Kong Humanity Awards, for their exceptional spirit of humanity, community involvement and volunteerism.
The Hong Kong Humanity Award, co-organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross and Radio Television Hong Kong, is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and was launched in 2007. It honours those live up to and put into practice the spirit of humanity. The awardees stand as examples of how individuals can spread the spirit of humanity by caring about others through volunteer work.
Three of the five award winners are HKU alumni. Dr Margaret Chung suffered from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, but has kept on influencing other patients with her positive attitude. Dr Albert Ko is a mechanical engineer who actively participates in disaster relief projects and facilitates emergency engineering activities, and is currently also a Senior Student Advisor at HKU. Dr Poon Tak-lun has been participating in medical relief missions and providing clinical and surgical services for over three decades.
Whether in Hong Kong, mainland China or other places around the world, the awardees have shown their dedication to helping those in need, and have tried to prevent and alleviate human suffering, regardless of the background and social status of those they are helping. Their work shows the public that one can truly live a life of humanitarian service based on a belief in 'the spirit of humanity'.
