My Dear HKU Family,

It’s fantastic to see you today and to be together as ‘one’, as we celebrate not only a new year but also new beginnings. Finally, after three long years, we can gather almost without pandemic restrictions. Thanks to world leaders in science and public health – many of them from HKU itself. We face the future with courage and bravery.

But what unifies us today is our love for a university unlike any other. In 2022, HKU turned 111 years old – a special anniversary we continue to honour over the next few months.

‘1-1-1’ is not just a number, but a place-marker in our story, a beacon and symbol of hope. For more than a century, the women and men of HKU have helped make the world a better place. And today, you are doing exactly the same.

Thank you to everyone – our students, staff, faculty, donors, and alumni. As an expression of that gratitude, and for the first time ever, ‘ARTathon/HKU Family Day’ celebrates the return of life – here in the heart of the West Kowloon Cultural District.

On that note, may I make special mention to our donors whose generosity enabled hundreds of high school students to visit the Hong Kong Palace Museum earlier today. As we sit beneath the gaze of the Palace Museum, M+, and the Xiqu Centre, we are reminded that Hong Kong has bright and brilliant years ahead. Indeed, the best is yet to come.

So, relax, enjoy and have fun, and reach out to the people next to you and say “hello”. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we need each another and must care for one another.

Thank you. Take care, and always be happy!