December 24, 2020

Dear Members of the CUHK-Shenzhen Community, Parents, and Friends,

We have arrived at the final season of this unusual year, and this is indeed a time of festivity and celebration. Walking past the beautifully put up Christmas trees and lighted decorations, I feel this is an enchanted campus! Students, you have finally sat all your finals. Well done! Faculty, you have carried out another year of excellent teaching and researching in ways that are more demanding. Staff, you have each performed your important duties so that CUHK-Shenzhen can function smoothly though under trying circumstances. As we wrap up an unforgettable 2020, I want to thank you all for working so hard and contributing to our university community in so many ways.

So, have you started the countdown to the end of this year? I believe many of you have already done so long time ago. People around the world can’t wait for the year 2020 to pass by. But I wish to caution our students against overgeneralizing the past 12 months into a merely wretched year. For all the wreckage and spoilage this pandemic has left behind, I believe the year 2020 still has some hidden gifts for us. You may doubt the truth of it. The enforced togetherness earlier this year might be the one and only occasion in adulthood where you could spend a long uninterrupted time with your parents and siblings. You may not feel the worth of it now, but you will probably feel it when looking back after long years. This COVID-stricken year has also made us more appreciative of ordinary activities such as having meals with friends, going to a movie, or simply taking a walk around the neighborhood. I share your readiness to be done with the miseries and sufferings of 2020, but I hope you will not allow the gloom to obscure the compassion and courage that have been given and returned. This year has also taught us to learn from the bamboo tree. When the wind gets tough, it bends low but never breaks, adapting its attitude to difficult circumstances and ready to bounce back with strength. The wind will eventually cease, and the bamboo tree has grown stronger and more resilient. I hope the ending of this year will not obliterate the lessons we could have learned from this experience.

As a university, we have also made remarkable headway during the past year that should not be overlooked. We have established our fifth school – the School of Data Science. We have extended and diversified our research platforms. The CUHK-Shenzhen Laboratory of Future Network System, the Advanced Institute of Global and Contemporary China Studies, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Life and Health, just to name a few, are now open and ready to boost research and facilitate scientific discoveries. Despite the pandemic, we welcomed the Class of 2024, our 7th undergraduate student cohort, an exceptional group of young people whose resilience has been tested. We also celebrated the graduation of both undergraduate and graduate students in May and November. Our admissions scores, with a further increase nationwide, topped among universities in Guangdong for the fifth consecutive year. Our faculty continues to grow, with quite a number of world-renowned scholars and scientists joining the community.

If, with a raging pandemic, we have achieved this much, I believe we indeed have enough reasons to take pride in being part of the CUHK-Shenzhen community. We might not foresee an easier, less challenging 2021, but what we can be sure of is our willingness to stay open-minded and our readiness to collaborate with and support one another. As we say goodbye to 2020, I invite you to join me in wishing and realizing a better year to come.

With warmest wishes for a joyful and fruitful new year,

Yangsheng Xu

President

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

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撰文：校长徐扬生教授

图片由港中大（深圳）师生拍摄

摄影：李雨清（2020级数据科学学院、学勤书院）

排版：魏子昕（2018级经管学院、逸夫书院）