Dr Henry Hu Hung-lick, the President of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, passed away peacefully on 27 July 2025 with his family by his side. Dr Hu will be sadly missed by all staff, students and alumni of the University.
Born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province in 1920, Dr Hu graduated from the National University of Political Science in 1942 where he studied diplomacy. He ranked first in a national diplomat examination in 1944 before going overseas. Dr Hu served as Vice-Consul of the Consulate General of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in Tashkent in 1946. He received a doctoral degree in Law from the University of Paris in 1952, and qualified as a barrister in the UK in 1954. Dr Hu began his legal practice upon his return to Hong Kong, specialising in international law and pledging to improve livelihoods in the city. Proficient in Chinese, English, French and Russian, he was a member of the Urban Council and a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. He attached great importance to improving the lives of young people in Hong Kong. Among his many contributions, he pushed for nine-year free education in Hong Kong, advocated for the acceptance of Chinese as an official legal language and strived for housing for residents in resettlement areas.
Seeing the severe shortage of tertiary education in Hong Kong, Dr Hu and his late wife Principal Dr Chung Chi-yung established Shue Yan College with their personal savings in 1971. The college was recognised by the government and registered as a post-secondary college in 1976. With Dr Chung as Principal and Dr Hu as President, the college stayed true to its founding philosophies, choosing to retain the four-year college system rather than receiving government funding in 1978. They faced and overcame numerous difficulties over the years in their efforts to expand the college and improve its academic standards. In 2006, the college was approved by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as the first private university in Hong Kong.
The date of Dr Hu’s funeral and memorial activities will be announced separately once the arrangements have been finalised by his family.
Hong Kong Shue Yan University