A ‘diamond jubilee’ for veteran alumna
Lina Yan’s six decades of dedication to her alma mater
When CUHK began to plan celebrations for its 2023 diamond jubilee, alumna Lina Yan (69/United College/English; 72/Diploma in Education) stepped up to chair the steering committee responsible for some 130 celebratory events. Taking on this demanding role capped nearly six decades of commitment to her alma mater. Yan was at the helm of the CUHK Convocation for three terms. Currently, she is a member of the University’s governing Council and the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of United College. “CUHK is my second home. For as long as my alma mater needs me, I will do my best,” she says. In 2005, CUHK conferred on her an honorary fellowship.
All this is on top of a multi-faceted career that included many other commitments to public service. After graduating, Yan was a secondary school teacher, then a vice-principal. From 1976 to 1995, she worked at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), where she headed the Educational Television Division. She also hosted RTHK’s inter-school TV quiz programme Jr. On Your Mark and directed programmes such as Hong Kong Connection. Since student days at CUHK, she has been a drama enthusiast and actress.
Serving since college
Yan’s decades of volunteer service to CUHK began when she was a student at United College, whose campus was then in Bonham Road, Mid-Levels. She participated in the Student Union and played an active role in running the College’s drama club. In 1966, she was invited by the College’s head, Professor Cheng Tung-choy, to chair the 10th College Anniversary Ball Committee. Although only a sophomore, she successfully organised the College’s first large-scale ball with other student committee members, including fellow drama enthusiasts Luther Fung, Irving Koo and Michael Hui Koon-man.
“Luther, Irving and I love plays. Even though the Bonham campus was small, we had great fun rehearsing plays on the simple stage. Everyone was engaged in college life. When the College invited us for help, we gladly offered our support,” she recalls. Decades later, they performed in a drama to celebrate the 50th anniversary of United College. Yan was the chairperson of the drama’s organising committee. She and Luther Fung collaborated again in the University’s 40th anniversary play Of Phoenix Lineage.
The teamwork, character analysis and interpersonal skills that come with acting also served Yan well in the fields of education, media and public service. “I’m grateful to CUHK for nurturing me and giving me many opportunities to explore. I was fortunate enough to have good teachers who encouraged me to participate in drama activities, namely Rev Fr John Gannon and Professor Yao Ke. Gannon was a Shakespeare expert teaching English literature and drama, and Yao was a famous Chinese playwright who taught in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature.”
Gathering the bright minds
Yan has made many good friends and accumulated life experiences in her abundant campus life, which are the source of her motivation to give back to CUHK. She has served on the CUHK 40th Anniversary Organising Committee, chaired three terms of the CUHK Convocation, and is currently a Council member of CUHK and the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of United College. She has served her alma mater for nearly six decades in a blink of an eye. “The more I get involved, the more I feel it’s worth dedicating to my alma mater. CUHK has laid the foundation of my life, made me more courageous and confident, and broadened my network.”
“This was a great opportunity to give back to my alma mater,” she says. It involved liaising with alumni, colleagues and social luminaries spanning 60 years, as well as gathering talented people at CUHK today. The Steering Committee was founded with the approval of the Council’s Executive Committee in December 2021, and held a meeting in March in the following year. It mainly focused on formulating the overall direction of the celebration events, guiding the 60th anniversary working groups, and performing the duties assigned by the Council or the Vice-Chancellor. The Committee has established the working group on 60th anniversary, which has five working sub-groups to coordinate alumni activities, the gala dinner, fundraising, global strategies and social impact activities.
Into the splendour of diamond jubilee events
All colleges, faculties and departments participated in the jubilee celebrations, which ran from February 2023 to June 2024. “Many were unforgettable,” says Yan. “For the commencement ceremony there was a light show and a drone performance that was the first-of-its-kind in Hong Kong’s higher education sector.”
In this performance, which combined technology and art, the CUHK logo and “CUHK60” were displayed above the University Mall, where more than 1,000 guests, staff and students had gathered. A light show telling the CUHK story was projected onto the Library’s facade. This was followed by dancing and choir performances by students, watched online by more than 9,500 alumni, faculty members, staff and students.
The University also took its jubilee celebrations to the community. An art exhibition at nearby New Town Plaza in Sha Tin featured 50 works. Aside from exhibits of CUHK landmarks, it featured works closely related to the Sha Tin community, along with street scenes and buildings of Hong Kong’s past and present. The exhibition, which received more than 180,000 visitors and was widely covered by local and mainland media, represented the 60 years that CUHK and Hong Kong have travelled together. “This celebration event was not only for CUHK people, but also an opportunity for integrating CUHK’s story into the community and the Greater Bay Area through the media.”
Another memorable moment in the jubilee programme was a concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma, held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in November. The world-renowned cellist has a deep connection with CUHK. He received an honorary doctorate at the time of the University’s 30th anniversary. Helping to make the 60th anniversary concert happen were the alumni sub-group of the anniversary working group, the Shaw College Alumni Association and the Department of Music. “This concert was not only a celebratory event but has become part of the collective memory of many Hong Kong citizens in the audience that night,” says Yan. On the eve of the concert, Yo-Yo Ma visited the CUHK campus to engage in a dialogue with more than 200 students and delighted them by giving an impromptu performance.
With the staunch support from CUHK alumni for the concert, the University has set up the CUHK 60th Anniversary Artistic Talent Development Fund. Its aim is to nurture arts talent by subsidising CUHK students with aspirations in music, arts and cultural management to take part in summer internships or overseas exchange programmes, helping them lay solid foundations in creative fields.
More than 2,000 CUHK students, faculty members, alumni, mainland and international partners and friends gathered in December for a gala dinner to celebrate 60 years of achievement by CUHK. “I’m grateful to the alumni for their wonderful performances that night. Alumni from different generations took photos together. The scene was heartwarming.”
After 60 years of development, CUHK has grown from three constituent colleges to nine. It now has eight faculties and one graduate school, and the total number of alumni is close to 300,000. She is pleased to see the University’s impressive academic achievements and fruitful results, such as being ranked among the top 50 in the world in the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Still waters run deep
She adds that CUHK alumni have become leaders in all walks of life, while quietly contributing energy and wisdom to their alma mater. “CUHK attaches great importance to the humanistic spirit, and the motto ‘Through learning and temperance to virtue’ simply reflects everyoneʼs dedication to striving for progress,” says Yan. “CUHK has repeatedly reached new heights in teaching and academic research. It was the first Hong Kong tertiary institution to establish a campus and research institute in the Greater Bay Area, making it possible to extend its excellent qualities of education, scientific research and contribution to the mainland.”
In Chinese culture, a ‘jiazi’ is a 60-year cycle. Yan hopes that everyone associated with CUHK will stride ahead in the next 60 years with the spirit of “inheriting history and innovating with boldness”. She envisions that the University community will continue to lead in scientific research and culture, and boldly innovate, riding on existing foundations to transform scientific research results into outcomes that benefit the world.
She looks upon CUHK as a large family where everyone is willing to help and encourage one another. “I hope that successful CUHK people will mentor their junior counterparts and contribute to their alma mater together. No matter what subject you major in or what industry you are engaged in, you can always find like-minded people in the community. Let’s work hard together and help our alma mater scale new heights.”
By Jenny Lau
Photos by San
Reprinted from Chinese University Bulletin, No.1, 2024, with changes made to ensure its accuracy at the time of publishing
