让科学…

让科学放光芒

--在2023年香港浸会大学毕业典礼与名誉博士学位仪式的致辞

我代表今天获名誉博士学位的同仁，感谢香港浸会大学全体师生刚刚授予我们的荣誉。

​1985年，我经香港去旧金山。彼时的香港与中国大陆很多方面都非常不同。过去38年来，世界变了，特别是中国大陆经历了巨大的变化。那次我来香港之前路过深圳，它还是一个在修第一条大街的小镇。

​2000年，我把1998年在北京创立的“分子和细胞神经生物学”Gordon研究会议搬到香港。其后二十年，每两年参加此国际会议也是我观察香港科学的窗口。

2001至2003年，每年春天我到香港讲课一周，对香港的大学生有了解。

因此，我不仅在前排观察过香港的科学和教育，也试图以微薄之力对香港的科学和高等教育有所参与。

​以此经历支撑我赢得了显示我的批判性一面，我希望您们原谅我直抒己见。

在殖民时代，英国不太可能期待香港为科学做出很大贡献，香港的高等教育不是为科学而构建。很长时间香港文化对发展科学也无很大热情。

​1998年后，中国大陆，特别是北京和上海，开始在科学上崛起，起初比较慢、后来非常明显。二十多年经历过争论，有观点认为“科学对中国无用，中国应该依赖商业模式创新和金融创新”。有几年，我不得不反驳那些观点倡导关注科学研究、科技创新、科研人才。我和施一公、潘建伟等一批科学家通过公益性《知识分子》和《赛先生》的公众号，以科普、科学品位推动科学文化扎根。随着国际压力集聚，那些观点寿终正寝。很清楚，其他国家不会让免费用它们的成果。我们需要自己提高高等教育的质量、改善科学的质量。

在同一时期，香港也有努力，包括建立新的大学，改进已有的大学。但是速度慢一些、规模小一些，所以香港的科学落在大陆后面了。

​为什么需要关心香港的科学?我认为，科学可以对有高素质人才的地方如香港至关重要。以瑞士为例，其人口数量的多少、自然资源的有限和人民工作的努力，都类似香港。瑞士在两百年前就认识到自己的优点和弱点。它发展了物理的强项，从而产生了科学巨匠如爱因斯坦、同时也支撑了精密制造业。它发展了化学和生物的强项，从而产生了发现DNA的科学家、生物医药产业也是瑞士重要经济支柱之一。人口只有十七万的小城巴塞尔出现了全球十大药厂中的两家，吸引了全球最优秀的产业人才，对瑞士在全球产业竞争中可持续发展提供保障。

现代世界一而再再而三证明高等教育支撑的科学可以是国家和城市繁荣的引擎。

​7周前，我参加了未来科学大奖的颁奖仪式。我作为其科学委员会主要发起人，这是第一次在香港举行仪式。香港特首似乎非常支持科学发展。这是好的苗头，如果香港接受了科学和高等教育对其未来至关重要的观念。

​让我们希望整个香港，从特首到普通市民，都支持科学和高等教育，年轻人纷纷努力学习科学和工程，特区政府加大对科学和高等教育的资助，金融机构加大对科技创新行业的投入，香港的文化积极融入科学成分，未来建成的香港不仅以科学为支撑自己的支柱， 而且能够为人类作贡献。

​最后，再次表示我们的感谢，并祝福香港浸会大学的全体师生员工和全体香港市民。

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2023年11月20日下午在线英文致辞

Let Science Shine

--Speech at 2023 Hong Kong Baptist University Ceremony

On behalf of my fellow honorees today, I would like to thank all faculty members and students at Hong Kong Baptist University for the honor you have just conferred upon us.

​In 1985, I was in Hong Kong on my way to San Francisco. I saw Hong Kong for the first time. It was very different from the mainland China then, in many aspects. Over the last 38 years, the world has changed, particularly because China has changed a great deal. I came to Hong Kong through the small town of Shenzhen, whose first avenue was still under construction then. Now it rivals major global metropolitan cities.

​In 2000, I moved the Gordon Research Conference on Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology to Hong Kong after founding it in Beijing in 1998. I observed science in Hong Kong through this biannual international science meeting for two decades.

From 2001 to 2003, I taught a week per spring for three years in Hong Kong and observed college students here.

Thus, not only have I had front-seat views of science and education in Hong Kong, but I also tried to contribute, in my own small ways, to both science and higher education of Hong Kong.

​Using the above to claim that I have earned the right to be critical, I hope that you will excuse me if I state my opinions frankly.

It is unlikely that the British had much expectation for Hong Kong to contribute to science during colonial times. Hong Kong’s higher education structure was also not designed for that purpose. It did not help that, for a long time, Hong Kong’s culture was not enthusiastic for developing science locally either.

​After 1998, mainland China, especially Beijing and Shanghai, began to rise in science, first slowly and then quite obviously. We went through a period when some were arguing that science was useless to China and our development should rely on commercial models and financial institutions. I had to rebut those views for a few years. But those views disappeared when international pressure built up. It was clear that other countries were not going to let anyone else take a free ride. We have to improve the quality of our own higher education, and we have to improve our own science.

Hong Kong was making efforts during the same period, establishing new universities and elevating existing colleges and universities. But, being slower in speed and smaller in scale, Hong Kong lagged behind.

​Why should anyone care about science in Hong Kong? In the views of myself and some others, science can be pivotal to places like Hong Kong. Take Switzerland as an example. It is similar to Hong Kong in population size, limited resources and hardworking people. It recognized its strength and weakness two hundred years ago and placed science and higher education among its top priorities. It developed strength in physics which has produced scientific giants such as Albert Einstein and contributed to its precision manufacturing at the same time. It developedstrength in chemistry and biology which has produced scientists who discovered DNA and, at the same time, 2 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies in Basel, a city with approximately 170, 000 people.

Modern times have shown repeatedly that science supported by higher education can be an engine driving the prosperity of cities and countries alike.

​7 weeks ago, I attended the ceremony of Future Science Prizes, whose scientific committee I co-founded 8 years ago. This is the first year when our ceremony was held in Hong Kong. The CEO of Hong Kong seemed to be quite supportive. It is a good sign that Hong Kong has accepted the idea that science and higher education are crucial for its future.

​Let’s hope that Hong Kong, the entire Hong Kong, from the leadership to the people, will all support science and higher education so that the future Hong Kong will not only use science as a pillar to support itself but also to contribute to humankind.

​Again, my gratitude, and best wishes to all of you at HKBU and in Hong Kong.