HKUST: HKUST Confers Honorary Fellowships on Five Distinguished Individuals
Five distinguished individuals, Mr. David FONG Man-Hung, Mr. LEE Shing-Put, Mr. David LEE Wai-Hung, The Hon. Starry LEE Wai-King and Mr. Daniel YU Chung-Kwong were conferred Honorary Fellowships by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today. Officiating at the ceremony were the Hon. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing, Chairman of the HKUST Council, and Prof. Wei SHYY, President of the HKUST.
HKUST Council Chairman the Hon. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing commended the five recipients for their remarkable achievements, contribution to the society and support to the University. “Our five new Honorary Fellows are all renowned leaders in their respective professional spectrums, they are committed to make our world a better place, continuously making contribution to Hong Kong and our country. I hope our younger generations will find their experience and achievements inspiring,” he said.
President Prof. Wei SHYY congratulated them as well, “Our five Honorary Fellows are supporters and friends of HKUST. They have made notable impact on various aspects of our society. We appreciate their contributions and look forward to more partnership in the future.”
Mr. David FONG Man-Hung was born into the family that founded the Hong Kong property company Hip Shing Hong (Holdings). Since he became the Managing Director in 2009, He led an upgrade of the company’s 200 properties with new and smart technologies, as well as the revitalization of an industrial building in Wong Chuk Hang into a new quarter for the arts, winning praises from the then HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie LAM. Influenced by his father, Mr. Fong is much devoted to charity work. Not only is he Chairman of the Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation and Fong’s Family Foundation, he is also an Honorary Council Member of UNICEF Hong Kong, as well as an Executive Council Member & Trustee of WWF Hong Kong. Mr. Fong is a Council member at several local universities – including that of HKUST between 2016 and 2021, where he helped oversee the earlier planning and development of the HKUST(Guangzhou), which was open on 1st September 2022.
Mr. LEE Shing-Put is an aspiring entrepreneur. Despite setting to take over Xinyi Glass – the business founded by his father upon his graduation from the HKUST Business School in 2000, he first founded several successful startups, and used the experience he had gained since, to accelerate Xinyi’s evolution from manufacturing and trading to renewable energy generation and storage starting 2011. Chaired by Mr. Lee, Xinyi Energy is now a leading solar power station investor and specialist in the mainland. Mr. Lee has served the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society Kowloon for many years – including being its Chairman between 2018 to 2019. He has been involved in different philanthropic initiatives. In 2019, Mr. Lee gave back to his alma mater by donating to the HKUST Alumni Endowment Fund in support of student initiatives. He has been the University’s Court member since 2020.
Mr. David LEE Wai-Hung is a member of the Lee Kum Kee family business. In 1980s, Mr. Lee, then fairly fresh out of college, successfully helped the family firm sail through the financial crisis, and later developed the sauce company into its diverse portfolio today with his four siblings. Being a firm supporter of family cohesion, Mr. Lee fervently promotes such value with the Lee Kum Kee Family Foundation where he served as a Chairman from 2013 to 2018. Since 2008, the Foundation is estimated to have benefited some 200,000 multi-generational participants from nearly 4,000 families through different campaigns and initiatives. Mr. Lee also works closely with leading local and international universities such as HKUST, where he has made donations, served on HKUST’s University Court, its School of Business and Management’s Advisory Council, providing advice and support on issues such as students’ holistic future developments.
The Hon. Starry LEE Wai-King was among the earliest batches of HKUST students. Throughout her political career, Ms. Lee was once the youngest district councilor at 25 and then the youngest female lawmaker at 34. Following her appointment as an Executive Council member in 2012, Ms. Lee became the only politician in Hong Kong at the time to hold three seats simultaneously at the city’s District, Legislative, and Executive Councils. In 2015, she became the first Chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). As a sitting member of the HKUST Court since 2016 and the University’s Council Member between 2010 and 2016, Ms. Lee helped facilitate HKUST’s development, including securing government funding for the University’s student dormitory project.
Mr. Daniel YU Chung-Kwong is the founder of Maxwell Electronics Ltd, he has shown an aptitude for science and electronics from a young age. Beginning with the manufacturing of camera flash units, his innovative designs and business strategies have helped Maxwell set foot in the Mainland, with its products quickly becoming a major source of the export earnings that fueled Hong Kong’s early economic growth. Being a scientist at heart and having lived through multiple major health challenges in Hong Kong, Mr. Yu firmly believes in impacting lives through scientific research and medical breakthroughs, and have created several endowed professorships at leading local universities including HKUST. Impressed by HKUST’s research endeavors and achievements, he made several donations to support HKUST’s research work, some resulted in matching grant from the government. He remains active in many philanthropic projects after being semi-retired.