Chair of UM University Council Dr. Daniel Chi-Wai Tse Conferred UponDoctor of Social Sciences honoris causa by the Open University of Hong Kongin Recognition of His Outstanding Contributions toEducation and Public Service in Hong Kong and Macao

 

The Chair of the University Council of the University of Macau (UM), Dr. Daniel Chi-Wai Tse, was conferred upon the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to higher education and public service in Hong Kong and Macao. The conferment ceremony was held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wanchai, Hong Kong at 12 December. Dr. Tse was conferred upon the degree by Dr. The Honourable Charles Lee Yeh-kwong, Council Chairman of the OUHK.

Known as ‘the poet President’, Dr. Tse is closely related to higher education in Hong Kong. Born in Macao and having studied in the United States, Dr. Tse began to teach in Hong Kong in response to the invitation of the Hong Kong Baptist College in 1968, and served as President of the College three years later. The Vice President (Technology and Development) of the OUHK, Professor Chun-Ming Leung, commended in his citation that Dr Tse is a real pioneer in education with a true vision for it; he largely elevated the scale of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), settling its standing in both the local and international academic sector. Under his leadership, the Hong Kong Baptist College was officially elevated to the status of university.

Dr. Tse is also a pioneer in Chinese medicine and has made very significant contributions to the field. In the 1990s, HKBU introduced a full-time double-degree course in Chinese Medicine – a milestone in Hong Kong’s formal higher education system – and a registration system for Chinese medicine practitioners. After his retirement in 2001, Dr. Tse was invited by the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR to serve as Chair of the University Council of the University of Macau and Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Development Strategies (a unit of the Government of Macao SAR) in hope of introducing new thoughts and vitality into the UM with his profound experience and determination, thereby enhancing its quality and international vision.

In addition to his work in higher education, Dr. Tse was a well-known figure in the political structure of the British Hong Kong Government. He was a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils at that time, and during the transition period leading to the return of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China, he was appointed as an advisor to the PRC on Hong Kong Affairs, and members of the Basic Law Consultative Committee and the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the National People’s Congress. Both before and after Hong Kong’s return to China, Dr. Tse also served as chair of many important government committees such as the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong, the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, the Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene, the Bilingual Law Advisory Committee and the ICAC Advisory Committee on Corruption. During the period from 1998 to 2008, Dr. Tse has served as a member of the Ninth and Tenth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Due to his distinguished contributions to higher education and his committed public services to Hong Kong in the past 30 years, Dr. Tse was successively appointed Justice of the Peace, the O.B.E. (Officer of the Most Excellence Order of the British Empire), the C.B.E. (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), and the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) of the Hong Kong SAR. Dr. Tse was also awarded eight honorary doctoral degrees and three honorary professorships from various universities in Europe, the US, Australia and Asia.

Caption:Chair of UM University Council Dr. Daniel Chi-Wai Tse was conferred upon the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa by the Open University of Hong Kong

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12/12/2008