Media

Chris Patten in Dialogue with HKU Community

04 Nov 2008

 

Chris Patten had an exclusive dialogue with over 800  students, members and friends of the HKU community on global issues today (November 4, 2008) at Loke Yew Hall of The University of Hong Kong.  It was the first forum he led during his 5-day visit in Hong Kong.   

Lord Patten was warmly welcomed by HKU Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui together with Court members, staff, students, alumni, donors, diplomats, journalists and commentators. This is the second time Lord Patten visited HKU after Hong Kong returns to China.  His last visit was in November 2005 when he had a dialogue with students and members of HKU on the rise of Asia.

In the one-hour forum entitled "In Dialogue with Chris Patten", Lord Patten explored imminent global issues facing our world today with five HKU student panelists and also the audience.  Drawing on his new book, What Next? Surviving the Twenty-First Century, the discussion revolved around issues like globalization, energy, international crime, weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation, small arms proliferation, climate change, water shortage, migration, epidemic disease,the fraying of the nation state.  Students had a vigorous debate with Lord Patten and tapped his mind on how students in Hong Kong and China could make a contribution to finding solutions to these problems.

More and more HKU students have been taking part in various programmes or forming organizations to express their concerns on global issues like climate change and poverty, they include student panelists Carter Chim who has founded the Fair Trade Voice aspires to promote fair trade at HKU and Hong Kong, as well as Judy Lau who has completed an internship under the Intensified Learning Opportunities Programme to work in Grameen Bank In Bangladesh. 

The forum was organized by the General Education Unit of HKU.  Dr. Albert Chau, Director of the Unit and Dean of Student Affairs, shared that "'we always remind our students that, although academic excellence is important, in today's globalised world, they must graduate with a wider range of life skills and the broad outlook and sense of a responsibility of a global citizen.  One of the educational aims that The University of Hong Kong will proudly introduce is to foster students to be leaders and advocates for improvement to human conditions. "  "And there is no better way to really learn about global citizenship than to listen to a global citizen as worldly-renowned as Lord Patten, and better still, to have a face-to-face dialogue with him, " he added.

Lord Patten was the last Governor of Hong Kong and also former Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997.  He is currently the co-chair of the International Crisis Group and of the Anglo-Indian Round Table, and Chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle universities.  From 1999 to 2004 he was the European Commissioner for External Relations, and made a life peer in 2005. 

For media enquiries, please contact Ms. Cherry Cheung, Senior Manager (Media), HKU (mobile: 8208 1686 / email: cherry.cheung@hku.hk)