World-renowned entrepreneur Mr. Li Ka-shing called for action in three key areas when he was in Beijing. First, China should develop a framework to enhance national innovative vitality; second, everyone should unlock the value of time through the use of technology; and third, everyone should make a commitment to enhancing social capital.
Mr. Li was in Beijing to attend three different events, namely the Inauguration Ceremony of the Science Building at the Peking University of Technology, the Inauguration Ceremony of the Future Internet Technology Research Center at Tsinghua University, and the Presentation on “Satellite Transmission Advance Network for Distance Learning”.
Mr. Li’s three speeches were entitled “Knowledge as Our Core Value”, “Technology as Our Enabler”, and “Social Capital as Our Score”.
At the Peking University of Technology, Mr. Li referred to “National Innovative Capacity”, a report by Professor Michael Porter of Harvard University, who made a case for the importance of policies that promote national innovation.
Mr. Li called for the development of a framework to enhance innovative vitality; not only technical sophistication and its economic applications, but policies that support a strong “common innovation structure” and environment.
Mr. Li said there is no room for braggadocios and great pretenders. “We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill; it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress”.
On the same day, Mr. Li delivered a speech entitled “Technology as Our Enabler” at Tsinghua University. He said, “Vision is perhaps our greatest strength; it has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries, it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown”.
The speed of progress has given him much more time, Mr. Li said. “Information and communications technology unlocks the value of time, allowing and enabling multitasking, multi-channels, multi-this and multi-that.
“The future may be made up of many factors, but where it truly lies is in the hearts and minds of men. Your dedication should not be confined for your own gain, but unleashes your passion for our beloved country as well as for the integrity and humanity of mankind”.
Mr. Li joined State Councillor Chen Zhili at the Great Hall of the People this afternoon for the presentation on “Satellite Transmission Advance Network for Distance Learning”. Mr. Li said social capital is a key ingredient in sustaining successful economic development, and that empathy, compassion, trust and shared values, community involvement, volunteering, social networks, and citizenship all have quantifiable value. It is a collective social responsibility that each and every one of us should undertake.
“Only through commitment to enhance social capital could we manage the dynamics of knowledge and innovation. Maybe it is the missing link that puts macro and micro economic dimensions in the right perspective”, Mr. Li said. “It is time to start envisioning the importance of all this to our society, and to give progress new meaning by helping each other to reshape destiny”.
16 Dec 2003
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