I am Li Ka-shing. I would like to thank
you all for sharing this happy occasion with me. It was ten years
ago when Mr. Albert Cohen first invited me to receive this award.
At that very sad moment in my life, it was difficult for me to think
of anything other than the routine pressure of work. But here I am
tonight, amongst friends; I am most honoured to be here to receive
this International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award. I would like
to thank Mr. Albert Cohen for nominating me for this award. I would
also like to thank Mr. John Fraser, Chairman of the Nominating Committee
and the members of the Committee; Dr. Emoke Szathmary, President of
the University of Manitoba; Dr. Jerry Gray of the Faculty of Management;
Mr. William Watchorn, Chairman of the Associates; and everyone who
helped organize this wonderful dinner and award ceremony.
A month ago, on the first of May, I quietly celebrated the 50th anniversary
of the company I first built. On that day, I reflected on those past
years, the sadness of lost childhood in the turmoil of war, the helplessness
of watching my father's suffering, the loneliness of poverty, the
desperation of seeking employment as a 12-year-old, the joy of receiving
my first paycheck, the enthusiasm in getting the first deal, the setting
up of my own company, the comfort of my first home, and the ever eventful
participation in global changes and development, the sheer magnificent
feeling of accomplishments and recognition. It has not been an easy
journey. My life has been filled with challenges and competition.
The constant demand for one to be wise, to be far-seeing and to be
creative is certainly tiring, yet all in all I am glad that I can
say I am a happy man, for I have tried to serve society to the best
of my ability as a human being, as a citizen and as a businessman.
We all know that this new century heralds an era of immense and destabilising
changes. We all share in different degrees, the success in the scientific
and information revolution that creates more efficiency and gives
us more in life. But we also face together the wide-ranging and threatening
destruction of both our own natural environment and the fabric of
the society we live in. More than ever before, in this information
society, education demarcates those who have the ability to acquire
and apply knowledge and know-how, and those who have not; those who
are highly valued and those who are deemed as unnecessary and unemployable.
We all deplore the injustices and the inequality that exist in our
world today, but each of us has only a limited power to change it.
However, I believe that there is no substitute for loyalty, integrity,
fair-mindedness and compassion. It is not surprising that sometimes
people say that such an attitude is inappropriate and not in step
with the times. For some, success in business is said to come at the
price of sacrificing these values. Of course, commercial reality requires
constant paradigm shifts. But it is my belief that the increasing
pressures to maximise profit and efficiency should not compromise
our respect for equality and our determination to minimise misery.
All our progress would hardly be meaningful if we choose to sacrifice
human spirit in pursuit of money and power.
I do not claim to be a beacon of moral light, nor am I a guide for
anyone save, maybe my own sons. The loss and helplessness I went through
made me determined, at an early stage, that I would not value myself
for what I own or what power I can wield, but to make my life worth
living. 50 years ago, I named my company Cheung Kong Holdings after
the Yangtze River that flows through China, a great river that aggregates
countless streams and tributaries. These days I think about where
this "river" should flow. Throughout the years, a charitable foundation
I set up has sponsored more than C$700 million to many causes, and
in particular education and medical development. I will continue to
do the same and more, not out of a sense of duty but because it is
a maxim by which I choose to live my life.
In this world, increased speed of information and travel has made
us live together and become more aware of our diversity. We have also
created immense global environmental and economic disparity issues
for us to solve. Together we must develop a new fraternity to ease
suffering, ignorance and poverty. Together, let us all contribute
our energy, skills and funds, to participate in building a more equitable
and compassionate society, in economy, education and health. Ladies
and gentlemen, success and freedom are fundamental aspirations that
can neither be narrowly characterized nor broadly defined, yet if
one's success should be measured by whether we have achieved the goals
we set for ourselves, and our freedom is gauged by whether we could
be responsible legislators of our own conduct, then we all have what
it takes to be successful, we all have what it takes to be free.
-Finish-
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