问答题
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very honoured to have the
opportunity to address such a distinguished audience of university presidents,
vice-chancellors and accomplished scholars from around the world. I must
congratulate theAssociation of University Presidents of China on its
achievements since its establishment in 1997. [TONE]∥[TONE] It
is the first association of its kind, and it will be a strong force for
enhancing academic cooperationbetween Hong Kong and the mainland and between
China and the world. I also applaud the Associationfor organising this
meaningful event which draws together so many top brains from around the world.
Thesynergy it generates will point the way for the development of the global
tertiary education sector into thenext century. [TONE]∥[TONE]
Today, whilst innovation and technology are the driving force of the world and
fuel its engine, it is thepeople that make the engines work. We wish to see in
our younger generation an all-round developmentcovering ethics, intellect,
physique, social skills and aesthetics. We wish to see in our younger
generations theability to assimilate modern technology and ideas. [TONE]∥[TONE]
We wish to see in our younger generation creativity, critical
thinking and a global outlook. We wishto see in our younger generation a
strength of character, a spirit of enterprise, the desire for
continuousimprovement and the versatility to cope with the changing needs of our
community. And we wish to see inour younger generation a sense of responsibility
towards one's own family, one's own community, one's owncountry and indeed the
world. [TONE]∥[TONE] In Hong Kong we strongly believe
education enables us to cultivate these noble qualities in our nextgeneration.
Education also creates and expands the pool of talents to maintain Hong Kong's
economicdevelopment and international competitiveness. That is why education is
always one of our top priorities and continues to be the single biggest item of
the Government's budget, accounting for 19% of our total public recurrent
expenditure. Despite the economic downturn, public expenditure on education will
have about 8%growth in real terms in this fiscal year. [TONE]∥[TONE]
Our best universities are among the top ten in the region, and our best
students are among the best in theworld. However, the success ofHong Kong lies
in our flexibility to respond to changes and our determinationfor improvement.
We have to inject new life into the whole education sector. To achieve this, we
areundergoing major reforms in our education system, our examination system, our
education regulators, ourschools, our teachers and, above all, our attitude
towards education. [TONE]∥[TONE] Education is a continuum. The
inputs into the tertiary sector are the outputs from the school sector. Wehope
that several years down the road, the tertiary sector is able to reap the
benefits from our reforms in thebasic education sector which we are now
embarking on. But universities cannot simply wait. They have toensure that their
current outputs, that is, their graduates and their research work, meet the
aspirations of thecommunity. [TONE]∥[TONE]