SIGNING THE JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN THE INSTITUT PASTEUR DE PARIS
and
THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

October 16, 1999

Speech by Prof Yiu-chung Cheng
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kon
g

Let me begin by thanking Mrs Anson Chan, Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government and Mr Vincent Courtillot, Director of Research, Ministry of Education, Research & Technology of France for officiating at today’s ceremony. We are honoured to have Mrs Chan and Mr Courtillot here witnessing this historic event – the establishment of the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre. Please also allow me to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Maxime Schwartz, Director General of the Institut Pasteur and Dr James Kung, Chairman of the Chekiang First Bank Limited and Chairman-designate of the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, for their personal efforts in bringing about the founding of this Research Centre.

The inception of the the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre not only marks a meaningful chapter in the partnership between the University and the Institut Pasteur but is also an important step towards international collaboration for the betterment of mankind in the global village of the modern world.

Despite the fact that infectious disease can be cured and in rnany cases prevented, they are still major causes of death and suffering even today. To the human race an infectious disease is most dangerous as it knows no boundary. This being the case, strict surveillance of the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases is very important.

Towards this end, global patnership in identification, prevention and research is of immense significance. Only by working together seamlessly can knowledge be created - knowledge which contributes to the well-being and betterment of human kind.
The Universily of Hong Kong has long played a lone hand in detecting and tracking down locally-emerging infectious diseases affecting animals and hurnan beings. Research on infectious diseases has been carried out in the Faculty of Medicine of our University for over half a century. To consolidate our strength in this area, the Centre of Infection was established in 1998. The Centre fosters closer collaboration between different members of the University and facilitates international collaboration.
The tie between the University and the Institut Pasteur can be traced back to the year 1978 when the University was invited to investigate the cause of death of dolphins, whales and seals in the Hong Kong Ocean Park. Our investigators successfully isolated an unusual bacteriurn from the animals and this discovery was subsequently confirmed by the Institut Pasteur.

The Hong Kong College of Medicine, the predecessor of the University, with Sir Patrick Manson, known as "the Father of Tropical Medicine", as one of its founder teachers and Dr Sun Yat-sen as one of its first graduates, was established in 1887, the same year when the Institut Pasteur was founded in commemoration of Louis Pasteur, "the Father of Microbiology". Not only do the two institutions share the same birth-year but also the same vision of doing pioneering work in medical science and related research. Today the University is honoured to have the opportunity of becoming a partner of the internationally renowned Institut Pasteur in research and investigations in medical science, in particular infectious diseases. The HKU - Pasteur Research Centre will contribute to the study and surveillance of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Specialized training sessions focused on the most prevalenl diseases will be conducted to bring our investigators up-to-date about on-going research in corresponding fields. The University is justifiably proud of having successfully forged an alliance with the prestigious Institut Pasteur. And we are greatly indebted to the Consulate General of France for their continued support in this matter. My special thanks must go to Dr James Kung, who has made a tremendous personal effort to bring our two institutions together. He is instrumental in bringing about this signing ceremony today. I am confident that, with the combined effort of the University and the Institut, we can achieve great advances in medical science for the benefit of mankind.

May I once again thank Mrs Chan, Mr Courtillot, Professor Schwartz and Dr Kung for their support in this matter. Thank you.


Speech by Prof Maxime Schwartz

former General Manager of the Institut Pasteur


The first scientist from Institut Pasteur who came to Kong Kong was Alexandre Yersin, who identified here the plague bacillus in 1894. This was one of the most important discoveries in medicine. A discovery which caused Louis Pasteur his last great scientific satisfaction in life, since he was fortunate enough to see Yersin and his bacillus in Paris, a few weeks before dying, in September 1895.

If Pasteur was still with us, I believe that he would also enjoy a great satisfaction today. He would be thrilled to see Institut Pasteur scientists come back to Hong Kong, come back to China, thus contributing to bridge science from the eastern world with that of the western world. Indeed, for Pasteur, there was only one Science, as he expressed in his famous saying:

Science does not make claim to any country, for knowledge is the heritage of humanity, the torch which lights the world

Pasteur would also be thrilled to see that the collaboration which is being established between the Institut Pasteur and Hong Kong University, another centenarian institution, will primarly deal with one of the most modern aspects of biology, that of genomics and bioinformatics, as applied to the study of microorganisms.

If I can only guess what Pasteur’s reaction would have been, I can be sure of my own reaction, and say how enthusiastic I am about this joint venture which is officialized today, and also say that all of the pasteurians in world, like myself, are highly confident in the future of this new research center.

In ending, I wish to extend my warmest thanks to all of those who made this creation possible.

First of all to Mr James Kung who, from the very beginning has been the driving force in this endeavour, and who donated an important fund to the new research centre. Then Hong Kong University and the authorities of Hong Kong, who gave us all the necessary moral and financial support, the French consulate which played with great efficiency the role of “go-between” and finally our Minister of Education, Research and Technology who, together with his collaborators, gave us all the essential encouragement.

I wish a long and successful life to the Hong Kong University-Pasteur Research Centre.