I would like to welcome you all to this opening ceremony. When the Prince of Wales Hospital was founded in 1984, I had the pleasure of contributing to the establishment of the specialist clinic. Some ten years later, when Vice-Chancellor Li suggested that there was a need to add a new wing, and at the same time, I learned that the Faculty of Medicine wished to establish an Orthopaedic Learning Centre, I immediately agreed to lend my support again.
Last year, as I was reading a copy of “Twenty-First Century” published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, I was surprised to see my name appear in one of the articles. The author suggested that if HK$100,000 fell from the sky and into my lap, I wouldn’t blink an eye. I would like to clarify something: I do not have any extravagant personal expenditures; my standard of living has remained the same for the past several decades. But, if I were allowed to use this windfall to help others, I would be very excited indeed. Nowadays, a lot of people spend their lives chasing after riches, but they have missed the true meaning of life, and overlooked the true value of money.
Education development and health care services are society’s two major pillars. I would be glad to contribute my money, time and energy to support these endeavors for the rest of my life. In my youth, I had hoped to become an educator like my father, or perhaps a health care worker, like yourselves, whom I greatly admire. But unfortunately, my father died at a young age due to a lack of medical care, and, being left with the responsibility of taking care of my family, I had no choice but to enter society. My past experiences and the pain and hardship I witnessed have allowed me to understand patients’ suffering as you do. These painful experiences also made me realize the importance of health care and education, and motivated me to make contributions in these areas.
This building completed today boasts comprehensive facilities and advanced medical equipment. But without a group of conscientious and professional medical workers such as yourselves, willing to give your all to take care of the patients, then the resources which we have committed cannot be utilized to their full efficiency and value.
Finally, I wish to thank everyone who took part in the building of this specialist clinic. I hope that the staff of the Hospital will continue to succeed in its mission to provide quality services to patients.
Remark: Mr. Li donated a total of HK$25 million towards this Prince of Wales Hospital project.