encouragement of scholarship in the field of Hong Kong Studies. We have long wished to undertake a more charitable role in this field. Action could only be begun, however, after we had achieved formal recognition of our status as a Charity by the Inland Revenue Department, which was completed about a year ago. Since then we have been very active in attempting to conclude a scheme by which our wishes could be met. I had hoped that this work would have been completed by today, so that I could present to Members a complete scheme for agreement, but, unfortunately, for various reasons, we have not quite got to that stage as yet. Jason Wordie has been the main force behind this work, and he will make a special report to Members on the present position shortly.
What we want to do is to set up a Foundation, or Capital, Fund, the income from which can be used to fund scholarship in the field of Hong Kong studies.
The Fund would be detached from the Society's other accounts, and would be set up as an autonomous entity, with clear rules for disbursement and control under the oversight of a separate Management Board which would be formed from Members of Council and others. I hope that this Board can be set up within the next month. I hope to take the Chair of this Board for the initial year of its operation. The Management Board would be responsible for the financial management of the Fund (for which the Board would require professional financial advice), for the consideration of proposals for grants and for making such grants, for ensuring the quality of any work produced as the result of any grant so made, for ensuring that Council is properly kept in the picture as to the activities of the Fund (Council would retain the responsibility for setting policy for the Board), and for producing an Annual Report on the work of the Fund for presentation to the Annual General Meeting of the Society. Each year, the income from the Foundation Fund would be transferred to a Current Account from which disbursements could be made. Once the Fund has been set up, this Annual General Meeting would thereafter receive and approve the annual accounts of the Fund as well as those of the Society's general funds. We are still considering a name for the Fund: one possibility under consideration is to name it The Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride Memorial Fund, in memory of our founding Vice-President, who was later our Second President, as well as Hong Kong University's longest-serving Vice-Chancellor.
xxiii