The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, today (September 23) mourned the passing of Professor Charles Kao, a Nobel laureate in physics, the former Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the "Father of Fibre Optics".
Mr Chan said, "Professor Kao was a prominent icon in innovation and technology as well as the academic field in Hong Kong. I respected him very much. His enthusiasm and focus on innovation and research, his attitude towards pursuing excellence and his pioneering research and development and applied research which led the optical fibre technology were key factors for the development of the Internet. These helped to rewrite the methods of communication for human beings.
"Professor Kao was also enthusiastic towards and contributed a lot to the development of education in Hong Kong. During his tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, he spared no effort in exploring resources and promoting whole-person education for CUHK, which consolidated the foundation for the long-term development of the university."
Mr Chan added, "Though suffering from Alzheimer's disease in his twilight years, Professor Kao and his family still strived to increase public care and awareness for the patients of Alzheimer's disease. He contributed a lot to society. I would like to show my respect to Professor Kao and offer my deepest condolences to Professor Kao's family."
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