P R E S S   R E L E A S E

     Professor Arthur K C Li, Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong was bestowed the Honorary Fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland for his outstanding contributions in the promotion of medical science and education.

     Established in 1784, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is an independent, international and progressive medical institution aiming at enhancing education and training in medicine and has been very active worldwide in the provision of undergraduate and specialist education, professional training and hospital management.  The Honorary Fellowship is the highest honour awarded by the College to those who make significant contributions to the progress of medicine and the betterment of humanity.

     The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in its citation remarked that Professor Li belonged to those special and talented few who fulfilled its criteria of Honorary Fellowship.  Professor Li is not only an internationally-renowned academic surgeon and scientist who has made distinguished achievements in his professional field but also an outstanding educator and administrator who has contributed greatly to the progress of medical education and professional training, as well as university education, particularly in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

     Appointed Foundation Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1982, Professor Li has built a multi-disciplinary department of surgery with a justifiable international reputation for patient care, for innovations in surgical techniques and education methods and for investigative rigour. A well-structured training programme combined with ample clinical exposure has attracted 50 international fellows to his Department to complete their specialist training.  The Department has trained 9 full professors of surgery and 55 consultant surgeons.  In 1992 Professor Li was elected Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and he expanded the faculties, modernized education methods and improved their funding.  Over the years the Faculty has established itself as the leading academic unit in Hong Kong.   The Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1996 appointed him Vice-Chancellor to lead the University into the 21st century.

     Professor Li was elected President of the Hong Kong Surgical Society in 1983  which subsequently under his direction became the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong, the statutory body responsible for setting surgical standards in Hong Kong.
 
      Professor Li has been awarded honorary fellowships of several surgical colleges and honorary professorships at numerous prestigious academic institutions, including those famous universities in China such as Peking Union Medical College and Shanghai Medical University.  He is also the Vice-President of the Association of University Presidents of China which comprises ten leading Chinese universities with excellent academic and research achievements and provides a platform for exchange and cooperation for the advancement of higher education in China.  In 1995 he was appointed Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow, the Edward Tooth Professor at Royal Brisbane Hospital, The University of Queensland, Australia, and the 14th Edward Hallaran Bennett Lecturer at Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland.  He has been invited to deliver numerous eponymous lectures at prestigious international meetings.  A publication record of over 260 original articles in peer review journals and numerous book chapters indicates the extraordinary productivity and high quality of his research and clinical innovations.