The City University of Macau (CityU Macau) held the Ceremony for the Conferment of Honorary Degree and the Congregation 2021/2022 at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion today (28) to both live and online audience. CityU conferred honorary doctorates on George Fu Gao, Yu Hua, Han Fangming, and Kou Hoi In, in recognition of their outstanding achievements and significant contributions to social development and higher education. Concurrently, CityU graduates received their certificates. The event attracted over 40,000 people to join the ceremony online.
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Guests attended the officiating ceremony included Ms. Ao Ieong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, acting as the representative of the Macao SAR Chief Executive, Mr. Liu Xianfa, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao SAR, honorary doctorate Mr. Kou Hoi In, President of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR, Mr. Shi Shuzheng, Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Mr. Kong Chi Meng, Director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, Mr. Lao Ngai Leong, Chairman of the City University of Macau Foundation Trust Committee, Mr. Chui Sai Cheong, Chairman of the City University of Macau Foundation Fiscal Committee, Mr. Chan Meng Kam, Chairman of Council of City University of Macau, Mr. Ung Choi Kun, Vice-Chairman of Council of City University of Macau, Mr. Yan Zexian, Vice-Chairman of Council of City University of Macau, Prof. Jun Liu, Rector of City University of Macau.
In her address, Secretary Ao Ieong U said CityU has been shouldering the social responsibility and mission of “taking root in Macao and integrating into the Greater Bay Area”. She pointed out that CityU has been actively promoting research innovation and results transformation, providing on-the-job and professional training for the needs of the community, cultivating practical-oriented talents for Macao, and contributing to the development of higher education integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. The 2022 policy address mentioned that the SAR Government supports innovative initiatives in universities, such as promoting the development of industry-academia collaboration and featured discipline, aiming to build the Macao higher education brand and promoting the development of market-oriented and high-quality higher education. In an era of challenges and opportunities, Secretary Ao Ieong said CityU and local tertiary institutions carry a great responsibility to create an education model that meets the needs of the times, provide the impetus for active integration into the country and the development of the Greater Bay Area, promote better moderate economic diversification of the city, social prosperity and stability, serve Macao’s development positioning of “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, and ensure steady and far-reaching implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macao. In addition, Secretary Ao Ieong hoped that CityU and local tertiary institutions will strive for academic excellence and seize the opportunities of the times to nurture patriotic talents with liberal humanistic qualities that Macao society sought for its development.
In his speech, Rector Liu praised the outstanding achievements of the four honorary doctorates in their respective fields and expressed his gratitude to their support for the development of CityU. CityU conferred the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa on Academician George Fu Gao, the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa on Prof. Yu Hua, the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa on Dr. Han Fangming, and the degree of Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa on Mr. Kou Hoi In. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three honorary doctorate recipients, namely Academician Gao, Prof. Yu, and Dr. Han, could not be able to present at the ceremony in-person. They received the honours via video conference and delivered speeches.
Prof. Zhou Wanlei, Vice-Rector of CityU Macau, delivered a citation for Academician George Fu Gao. He said that Prof. George Fu Gao is an academician of the Division of Life Sciences and Medical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, current Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and a pioneer in the research and development of the world’s first clinically approved COVID-19 neutralising antibody and the first approved recombinant protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, Academician Gao provided an important scientific basis for the national policy on Avian Influenza prevention and control, and led the first mobile laboratory of the CDC testing team to Sierra Leone to combat Ebola virus disease, playing a key role in the international aid operation.
Prof. Kong Fanqing, Vice-Rector of CityU Macau, delivered a citation for Prof. Yu Hua. She said that Prof. Yu is thriving figure in the contemporary Chinese literary circle and a representative avant-garde writer. His works have been translated into 43 languages and published in 45 countries, and won many international literary awards, including Italy’s Premio Grinzane Cavour, France’s Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Serbia’s Velika nagrada Ivo Andric. Prof. Yu plays a major role in promoting Chinese literary writing and is thus highly praised by many writers
Chairman Lao Ngai Leong delivered a citation for Dr. Han Fangming. He said that Mr. Han is a pioneer and active promoter of theory and education regarding public diplomacy in China, and one of the leading figures of the social think tanks in the new era. He is the Founding Chairman of the Charhar Institute, a world-renowned non-governmental Chinese think tank focusing on diplomacy and international relations. The City University of Macau – Charhar Center, jointly established by CityU Macau and the Charhar Institute in 2021, is gradually growing into an important diplomatic think tank in the Greater Bay Area, responding to the SAR Government’s core positioning of “One Centre, One Platform, and One Base”, and contributing to the successful implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” in Macao.
Rector Jun Liu delivered a citation for Mr. Kou Hoi In. Mr. Kou is President of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao SAR. He has been an elected member of the Legislative Assembly since 1991 and has devoted more than 30 years to the Legislative Assembly. He served as a deputy to the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th National People’s Congress consecutively. Mr. Kou was awarded the Medal of Merit – Industry and Commerce by the Macao SAR in 2007 and the Decoration of Honour – Silver Lotus in 2016. Under his leadership, the Legislative Assembly has spared no efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and interests as well as the prosperity and stability of Macao, continuously enrich and develop the characteristic practice of “One Country, Two Systems” in Macao, and fully demonstrate the principle of “patriots governing Macao”.
As the representative of the honorary doctorates, Academician Gao expressed gratitude to CityU Macau for the support. As a comprehensive university in Macao, CityU Macau focuses on the Greater Bay Area, building a first-class education, seizing opportunities, and giving full play to its strengths, taking roots the region and facing the world. He said that CityU Macau closely follows the needs of regional and national development of talents and young patriots with a sense of “Loving the Country, Loving Macao”. In addition, Academician Fu Gao advised the graduates to be grateful, honest, trustworthy, and courageous. In his speech, he motivated them to develop an independent mind and a free spirit, be innovative, entrepreneurial, and creative, always keep a clear head, and contribute to the country, Macao, Asia, and further afield.
