Mr Edwin Leong Siu Hung, Executive Chairman and Founder of Tai Hung Fai Enterprise Company Limited, has been named the “King of Retail Shops” by the local media in view of his many impressive retail property deals. Under his leadership, Tai Hung Fai Enterprise has developed into a highly diversified property investment and development company, involving branded hotels and service apartments, commercial and industrial buildings, luxury residential developments and mini-storage facilities. Mr Leong is also director of Henry G Leong Estates Limited, a property and securities investment company founded by his father, the late Mr Henry G Leong.

Mr Leong has demonstrated great commitment to the well-being of the elderly. Through the Tai Hung Fai Charity Foundation, he established the PolyU-Henry G Leong Mobile Integrative Health Centre, a vehicle that visits selected districts in Hong Kong to provide free health checks and monitoring to needy elderly people. Mr Leong has also supported local universities in the creation of a training programme for care workers of the elderly, setting up professorships for research into related aspects, and sponsoring scholarships for students in Hong Kong and in the Chinese mainland. In the past few years, Mr Leong has established the Henry G Leong Professorship in Gerontology and Geriatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Henry G Leong Endowed Professorship in Neurology at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and the Henry G Leong Endowed Professorship in Social Science at HKU, in memory of his father. He has also established the Edwin SH Leong Hughes Hall Scholarships at the University of Cambridge and HKU, and generously donated to PolyU to support its development.

Mr Leong has devoted much time to serving on various committees. He has served as a Director and Vice Chairman of Po Leung Kuk and is now an honorary patron of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, honorary advisor of the Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, and Court member at Lingnan University.

Mr Leong holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of British Columbia, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Toronto. He was awarded an honorary fellowship by HKU in 2010.

Chairman Yang, University Council Members, President Tong and Honoured Guests,

I am very grateful to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for conferring upon me this prestigious Honorary Fellowship. This honour represents not only a recognition by PolyU of my contributions, but also an endorsement of my commitment to the community.

Over the years, I have been heavily involved in community work that addresses the needs of the elderly. Because of that, I have maintained a very close link with PolyU, HKU and other NGOs in Hong Kong. Through the Tai Hung Fai Charity Foundation, I have established the PolyU-Henry G Leong Mobile Integrative Health Centre, a vehicle that regularly visits selected districts in Hong Kong, providing free health checks and monitoring needy elderly people. Along with Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Department of Social Work and Social Administration of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), I have established a pilot plan to provide services to senior citizen with dementia with the aim to improve their quality of living and the results have been most encouraging.

Besides this, I have also supported other local universities in establishing training programmes and scholarships, as well as facilitating research on related aspects. I have also supported students in the Northern Province of China so that they can continue their studies at the universities in the Chinese mainland.

I am certain that PolyU shares many of my concerns about the condition of the elderly in society and together we will do more in the future. I look forward to having further opportunities to collaborate with PolyU on their worthwhile projects.

Let’s join hands to care for the aged and bring more hope for our society.

Thank you very much.