Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests, colleagues, parents, graduates, alumni, ladies and gentlemen:

　　Forty years ago, the Founding Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong was installed. During the ensuing years, five most distinguished scholars, each coming from a different academic background, have in succession led this University from infancy to adulthood. The energy, faith, and devotion they brought to their tasks have propelled the University forward and fuelled its continuous quest for excellence. Today, the University is widely recognized as one of the best tertiary educational institutions, not only in Hong Kong, but also in our region.

　　For forty years, the University has been moving forward and upward, drawing strength from its youthful vigour, its bicultural heritage, its collegiate system, and its emphasis on general and whole-person education. It has also benefited from the deep dedication of generations of teachers, staff, students, and alumni, and the enormous good will of benefactors both in and out of Hong Kong. All these we shall seek to consolidate; all these shall continue to sustain us.

　　And right from the beginning, the University has been conceived, "not just as a Chinese University with British affiliation but as a Chinese University of international character", to quote Dr Choh-Ming Li, our Founding Vice-Chancellor. Right from the beginning, internationalization has existed as an instrument to tap resources - human as well as material - for the University's growth, and to raise it to a position of respect in the community of universities. A glimpse into our University's archives will show the University receiving wise counsel from distinguished persons all over the world on plans of its establishment. It will show a steady stream of celebrated international scholars and experts joining its faculties, contributing to the design of academic programmes and departments, and becoming members of advisory boards and even the University Council. It will show students from a multitude of countries entering the University's gates for exchange ever since they first opened. It will also show foreign governments and international foundations giving the University substantial assistance to develop its campus and to launch innovative projects. All these have continued for over four decades.

　　Then, as now, internationalization goes hand in hand with our mission to preserve, enrich and promote Chinese culture and is in fact nourished by our Chinese intellectual heritage. Indeed Chinese culture has flourished and prospered at our University and will continue to do so in the future. One of our missions, again in the words of our Founding Vice-Chancellor, is "to combine tradition and modernity, and to bring together China and the West (結合傳統與現代，融會中國與西方)". Today, the Chinese University is one of the premiere centres for Chinese studies in the world, with scholars coming from all over to learn and conduct research. Our Chinese intellectual heritage is indeed one of the University's strongest competitive advantages.

　　The primary motivation for internationalization has been, and remains, that it enhances significantly the education of our students. By bringing together, on the same campus, young people from all corners of the earth, they will have the opportunity to live with and learn from one another. Their horizons will be broadened, their understanding of diverse cultures will be deepened, and their awareness of the realities of the world will be sharpened. They will develop a greater capacity to communicate, empathize, and tolerate. They will develop the qualities they need to become effective in both work and personal life in an increasingly globalized world and a globalized employment market, and especially in a dynamic, international gateway city such as Hong Kong.

　　By sending our students through the challenge of living abroad as exchange students, where they can immerse themselves completely in a different culture and acquire the perspectives and skills to operate efficiently and independently in a new environment, they will become much better equipped with the kind of versatility, confidence, perspective, and exposure needed to respond creatively to unexpected challenges and opportunities. For the student, the semester or year abroad is often life-transforming.

　　And by being able to offer a better education, the University can attract better students. By being able to attract better students, the University can in turn attract better teachers. By being able to attract better teachers, the University can in turn attract even better students, both locally and around the world, thus setting the University on to a virtuous cycle of continual endogenous improvement.

　　Moreover, our non-local students will become part of our intangible capital. If they choose to remain in Hong Kong after graduation, they augment the pool of talents here. If they return to their respective home countries or regions, they become part of our durable network of friends and goodwill ambassadors. By opening up opportunities here for others, we in turn also open up opportunities for ourselves elsewhere.

　　However, the degree of internationalization of our University is not enough at present. Among undergraduates, non-local students currently constitute less than six percent, compared to 90 percent non-Beijing for Peking University, and 35 percent non-Michigan for the University of Michigan (both public universities like the Chinese University).

　　Moreover, the times are now different. Two major changes, one technological and global, and the other geo-political and local, have reshaped the environment faced by Hong Kong significantly. First, over the last decade, the information and communication revolution has greatly facilitated and accelerated globalization everywhere. Supply chains are now more international, more dynamic, and more finely divided than ever. Competition is now more global than local - for example, Indian and Filipino call centres compete for the business of U.S. firms; and Hong Kong and Japan will compete for Asia's Disney World customers. The returns to knowledge, especially international knowledge, has become much higher. There is great demand in the labour markets for individuals with international knowledge, perspective and skills (including language skills). That is why world-class universities such as Harvard and Yale are moving to require that all their undergraduate students spend some time abroad during their undergraduate years.

　　At the same time, competition for talents has also become global. Not only are employers competing with one another, so are universities. We in Hong Kong have been trying to retain our best students in our universities here through our Early Admissions Scheme. But to be able to attract and retain talents competitively, the Chinese University must offer an environment and programmes comparable to our non-local peer institutions, which in turn mandates further internationalization on our part.

　　Second, the opening and the rise of the Chinese economy over the last quarter of a century have also presented unprecedented challenges and opportunities for Hong Kong. Before the Second World War, Shanghai was unquestionably Asia's World City. Hong Kong began to surpass Shanghai after 1949 when China was closed to the rest of the world. Hong Kong benefited greatly as the unique gateway to mainland China. However, Shanghai is now poised to reclaim what it considers its rightful place. Indeed, Shanghai, as well as the rest of mainland China, are internationalizing at a rapid rate. While Shanghai will always be more centrally located than Hong Kong as far as the Chinese economy is concerned, Hong Kong can still compete by greatly strengthening and solidifying its existing international ties and by forging new relations with the ASEAN countries, serving as the hub linking them with mainland China and the rest of Northeast Asia. Hong Kong runs the risk of being marginalized if it does not make itself more valuable to others. Hong Kong must continue to find ways to add value and its international character is one of its major comparative advantages, which it must maintain and enhance in order to compete.

　　It is against such a backdrop that the Chinese University strives to realize its vision for its fifth decade, which is to develop into a leading comprehensive research university in Hong Kong, China and the region, through excellence in teaching, research, and service. Only then can it serve effectively the students in Hong Kong and the needs of Hong Kong. To thrive in its fifth decade and to respond effectively to the demands of the times requires a strategy of heightened internationalization. We use the term "heightened" because internationalization is by no means a new phenomenon on this campus: we shall simply be making greater strides at a faster pace.

　　We shall strive to create a truly international campus with a multi-lingual and multi-cultural milieu for those who come here in pursuit of academic excellence and personal growth. We do this by increasing our recruitment of non-local undergraduates from the mainland and overseas, by introducing special postgraduate programmes that attract talent from across the globe, and by expanding our exchange network to accommodate more student exchanges, both outbound and inbound, and from a broader mix of countries and regions. We shall make it possible for a greater number of our students to go abroad as exchange students for at least a term. This we do by forging new exchange agreements with mainland and overseas universities, and securing more scholarship support for outbound students. We shall create as many opportunities as possible for all those who wish to benefit from such an experience. We embrace this international dimension of our academic programmes.

　　In fulfilling another mission of ours, that is to create new knowledge through research, a higher degree of internationalization is likewise beneficial. The Chinese University has an international research reputation and a strong research culture. Whereas our researchers will continue to ensure local relevance in their work so that their findings can be translated into tangible benefits for Hong Kong, we shall redouble our efforts to forge new links and engage in collaborative research with academic centres of excellence worldwide. We shall establish joint laboratories with non-local partners to pool resources, achieve critical mass, and cultivate our special strengths. We shall also participate in multi-centre research on topics of global significance and contribute to the advancement of human knowledge. We shall also expand opportunities for our research students to be visiting scholars at research institutions abroad.

　　By taking part in national, regional, and global collaboration, our researchers and research students will be inspired by the cross-fertilization of ideas and stay abreast of the state-of-the-art in their own fields. Through constant interaction with true leaders in their disciplines, they can calibrate their work against the highest international standards. Greater access to non-local sources of research funding will open up. True excellence will eventually be achieved.

　　And with equal fervour, the new knowledge thus created will be channelled back to the communities that support these research activities. This means that we shall be ready to render our expertise not only to serve Hong Kong but everywhere it is needed.

　　The University's accomplishments in teaching, research, and service in the coming decade will therefore depend in large measure on how successful we are in strengthening the international element in these functions. In the age of globalization, such an approach will enable us to attract talent, raise standards, achieve excellence, extend our impact, and render services to not only Hong Kong, but the rest of China, Asia and the world.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, I consider it my greatest privilege to be able to serve this splendid university as its sixth Vice-Chancellor. With its roots in Hong Kong, the Chinese University aspires to become Asia's World University, one that can help to promulgate Chinese culture and usher in a new Chinese renaissance; one that will create new knowledge for humankind; one that will attract scholars from all over the world and enrich and enhance the pool of talents available to Hong Kong. I welcome the challenge and the responsibility, and shall devote priority to the internationalization of the University. I pledge to do my utmost to add value for our students, our University, and Hong Kong. And I shall look to all of you - teachers, parents, students, alumni and friends - for your advice and support.

　　In closing, I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the parents and teachers, who all labour hard and long in their own ways to make today possible for our graduates. And to our graduates receiving their degrees today, I offer my most sincere congratulations as well as my very best wishes for every success in the future.