r Li Ka-shing, speaking
at STU’s commencement
ceremony this year, tacked
directly into the storm of
contradictions that face
mankind in the 21st century. Unparalleled
opportunities appeared alongside injustice
and conflict.
STU’s over 2,700 graduates came to hear
from two big men at their commencement
– Mr Li and Yao Ming, founder of the
Yao Foundation and National Basketball
Association (NBA) legend. Mr Li is, of
course, a perennial favourite and supporter
of the school; the Li Ka Shing Foundation
donations to Shantou University are
approaching the HKD8 billion mark (to be
reached in 2018). Mr Yao is aligned with
Mr Li’s values, and exhorted students to
take responsibility for their lives and to
have clear goals.
THIS WON’T BE EASY
Mr Li spoke directly to the students,
but his speech was expansive in view,
addressing directly the forces buffeting
the world environment. He put it straight
to the students, “Our world is a troubled
place: unsustainable, unequal, unjust
and conflicted.” He emphasised that
“everything is unpredictable”. Mental
inertness has “spawned misguided
strategies and policies”. Turning to the
Greek classics, he warned of this lethargy
of the mind leading to a “Sisyphean future,
a future where our goals are forever out of
our reach”.
Even Icarus, who flew too close to the
sun, got a nod as Mr Li castigated those
who deployed vision without solution just
to satisfy their ambitions. The worldly
students and academics of STU would not
have to stretch far to see the global impact
of high-flying but “toxic” leaders of the
type alluded to by Mr Li.
A BRIGHTER WAY
Rather than let the darkness of the world
dampen spirits, Mr Li challenged the
graduates to rise above it; to use the fear
as a tool to motivate them to become who
they want to be. This self-actualisation
would enable them to become fearless
in solving the problems of the world with
their own vision.
While it may be true that “a climate of
sociopolitical and economic uncertainty,
a myriad of technological forces surge
forward into every corner of life,” Mr Li
believes that the students of STU have
the means – indeed, the responsibility –
“to reimagine and reshape established
models and conventions” that drive our
world. The uncertainty, the change, is not
to be feared, but harnessed and directed
for good.
For students to make that happen, they
need to understand the fundamental and
Vision
IN THE DARK
BE A LIGHT
Mr Li addresses the students of Shantou University (STU),
directly tackling a topsy-turvy world.
M
SPHERE
#41
2016
20
COVER STORY
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