A group from the Education Bureau of Hong Kong SAR, headed by Mr. Michael M Y Suen, Secretary for Education HKSAR, visited UIC with the accompany of UIC President Prof. Ng Ching-fai on January 4th afternoon. This was the first time for senior Officials from the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to visit a college in the Pearl River Delta.
Mr. Suen communicated with a UIC student
UIC Executive Vice-President Prof. S.T. Kwok and other top executives of UIC received the distinguished guests and reported to them the development of UIC. Prof. Kwok stated that UIC adopted the Hong Kong educational model and evaluation system which is different from mainland universities and foreign universities. An increasing number of Hong Kong students intend for UIC, and the first class of Hong Kong graduated students have been well accepted either by other universities in Hong Kong for post-graduate education, or by companies in the Pearl River Delta Region. Prof. Kwok highlighted the importance of innovation incorporated into development of the education industry: more and more Hong Kong students would hunt job in the mainland, the innovated model of UIC could provide Hong Kong students with a unique environment and learning experience. And the achievement of UIC has proved the possibility of educating talents who are as good as those educated in Hong Kong at a lower cost.
Prof. Kwok introduced UIC to Mr. Suen
After listening to the report, Mr Suen met with a few UIC representatives. A Hong Kong student Chen Wanxin enquired about possibility for the Hong Kong government to provide funding to Hong Kong students who received higher education in the mainland. One of the UIC teachers asked if it is possible to cut the income tax of Hong Kong teachers who teach in mainland China, just as American teachers enjoy a tax exemption for three years in China based on the bilateral agreement between the U.S. and China. Mr Suen responded that, due to budget limitation, private schools are their first consideration in relation to the strategy of building Hong Kong as an educational hub. Though 25% of GDP was put into education every year, exploration of new resources was needed. UIC Associate Vice President Dr. Wendy Chan said she had learned a lot from her working experience in the mainland, which she considered beneficial for other teachers from Hong Kong as well, hence she maintained that preferential policies are necessary for the teaching staff from Hong Kong.
First Row from L to R: Prof. S Y Zee, Ms. Michelle Li, Prof. C F Ng, Mr. Michael Suen, Prof. Edmund Kwok, Mr. Li Chongming
Second Row from L to R: Mr. Huang Xiaofeng, Dr. Wendy Chan, Ms. Du Jieli, Ms. Lilian Li
Mr Suen recognized the achievement of UIC in cultivating talents. He stated that, UIC students could have access to educational resources from both Hong Kong and mainland China, which conferred them competitive advantages in society. After a visit to UIC Student Hostel Culture Village, Mr Suen held that UIC had made satisfactorily rapid changes in a short term.
UIC Executive Vice-President Kwok Siutong stated that, Mr Suen, as a top decision maker, pushed forward the communication between Hong Kong government and UIC. UIC was inspired to make greater contribution to the educational development in the Pearl River Delta.
Reporter: Guo Yinting, Zhong Qiu, Xiao Yifei
Translator: Huang Shanqing, Richard Xu
Photos taken by: Xu Tailin, Ma Yunlei
Editor: Sunny Xiao, Richard Xu
Media and Communication Office
