The Unveiling Ceremony of Sun Yat-sen Statue
Address by Dr Victor Fung, Chairman of Council
November 12, 2003, 5:00pm, Lily Pond

Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

One hundred and thirty seven years ago, today, on November 12th, a great man was born. He is known to us as Dr Sun Yat-sen.

Eighty years ago, in the Spring of 1923, Dr Sun was speaking to a group of eminent students, scholars and guests at this University. During this historic visit, Dr Sun openly attributed his intellectual birthplace to Hong Kong and this University. I quote, "I feel as though I have returned home, because Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong are my intellectual birthplace."

His five years of study at the Hong Kong College of Medicine (predecessor of HKU Faculty of Medicine) equipped him with not only the knowledge of a modern profession, but also the intellectual inspiration and the aspirations of a life-time. And with this, he was able to change the course of China's history.

The Statue beside us now shows Dr Sun as he looked when he visited HKU in 1923, at the age of 56. This serves as a reminder to us about the role of Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region, in China's contemporary history, and the purpose of a University in the making of human history.

Dr Sun Yat-sen is not only a person of the past, he is also a legend of the present. His ideals and visions are constantly echoed by the contemporary developments in China. It is opportune and indeed it is the responsibility of this University, his alma mater, to re-affirm the value of ideas and the value of humanity and all that a university stands for. The unveiling of Dr Sun Yat-sen's statue in the heart of this campus will mark the beginning of a new tradition. Many generations of students, scholars, young people, will be looking to him for further inspiration, and remember that we too can and are making history.