CO129-531-11 Hong Kong University- general and financial points 14-9-1931 - 8-11-1931 — Page 13

15

XI

Sir James Currie said that he had heard that the young Chinese were unable to read a British engineering specification and could only read United States specifications. They were also beginning to go to Soviet Universities.

Professor Soothill said that the Chinese were jealous of Hong Kong University and would oppose any proposals for subsidizing it. For this reason efforts should be made to establish the reputation of the University beyond doubt. This could be done by improvements in the faculties of engineering and medicine. In addition the arts faculty, an essential element in any University, should be strengthened, especially on the Chinese side. The development of medicine and engineering involved increased facilities for physics and chemistry. Improved in this way, Hong Kong University could be made the leading force in China in engineering, and in medicine would be rivalled only by Shanghai.

Lord Lugard, referring to the suggestion that Hong Kong University was unpopular in China, said that he had understood from Professor Forster that the re- verse was the case.

Ivir. Sewell said that the United Committee for Christien Universities of China were very anxious that more of their students should go to Universities in Great Britain, instead of the United States of America, but that it was difficult to get them into Universities in this country. Most of the Christian Universities in China had been "registered" in America and their de- grees were accepted by Universities in the Dominions. There was a strong move to get students to go to the Dominions rather than to the Unites States. For the undergraduate medical students whom he had taught in China the natural centre for academic work seemed to him to be Hong Kong. In general, the parents of the boys wished them to go to Hong Kong, but for political reasons strong pressure was often brought to bear and the students went to Pekin. This was a difficulty which would not be overcome while there was

a strongin Nationalist feeling in China, Western China there was little knowledge of Hong Kong University, which should be the leading University. The Chinese Government had ordered that a school of engineering should be established in Canton and had selected the Christian College. The money had been provided and the building established. Hong Kong University should be linked up with China and developed so as to occupy an authoritative and influential position in the Chinese acedemic world.

In reply to a question from Sir James Currie, Mr. Sewell said that there was pressing need for agricultural education.

Mr. Farrer said that during the last twenty years British trade with China had fallen considerably, end the whole trend of China had been towards the United States. Equipment was almost entirely of United States origin. China was on the eve of a greater industrial development than ever before, and Great Britain was in

.

5.