Lingnan University to Confer Honorary Doctoral Degrees on Six Distinguished Individuals

Lingnan University will confer honorary doctoral degrees on six distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements and valuable contributions to humanity.

They are Dr Fok Chun-wan, SBS, JP, a well-known patriotic businessman; Dr Li Ning, an entrepreneur; The Hon Liao Cheung-kong Martin, GBM, GBS, JP, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Prof Tao Tang, an academic leader; Prof Wang Anyi, one of the very best writers in the contemporary literary scene; and Mr Donnie Yen, an international action star.

Photo source: Lingnan University

The following are the biographies of the Honorary Doctorate recipients:

Dr Fok Chun-wan

Dr Fok Chun-wan, Photo source: Lingnan University

The well-known and patriotic businessman Dr Fok Chun-wan, having inherited his father Dr Henry Fok Ying-tung's patriotism, love for Hong Kong, resilience, and pioneering spirit, became a successful entrepreneur. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dr Fok's enterprises followed the main trends, participating in the nation's reform, opening-up, and modernisation. His business activities include property, construction, tourism, culture, and transport.

Since the early 1980s, Dr Fok has held senior positions from Committee Member to Chairman in the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, and he has also served as Vice-Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and supported the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, which fosters the apolitical development and collaboration of the global Chinese business network. Dr Fok also served as a Deputy to the 11th, 12th, and 13th National People's Congresses. With a strong sense of responsibility and mission, he has offered suggestions on reform and opening-up.

Dr Fok has long assisted the nation's and Hong Kong's educational and charitable causes, and founded the Hong Kong United Youth Association in order to create a platform for exchange to assist a new generation that loves its homeland and Hong Kong. He also founded the Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation with Dr Lee Shau-kee, and both have been long-term contributors to talent cultivation and economic development in Chinese Mainland, demonstrating great foresight and aligning closely with Lingnan University's motto of “Education for Service”.

Through his various martial arts roles, Dr Fok is a key driver in internationalising and popularising the Chinese martial arts. As early as the 1980s, he founded the Wushu Federation of Asia, serving as its Vice-President and later President, and successfully campaigning for Wushu's inclusion in the Asian Games. In recent years, Dr Fok has advocated its introduction into schools and spared no effort in promoting Chinese Wushu across Asia and around the world. In acknowledgement of Dr Fok's invaluable contributions to the industrial and commercial, education and social welfare sectors, he was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Dr Fok will be awarded Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa.

Dr Li Ning

Dr Li Ning, Photo source: Lingnan University

A prominent figure in the global athletic community and a highly successful entrepreneur, Dr Li Ning is not only the founder and current Chairman and Executive Director of the Li-Ning sportswear brand, but also the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Director of Viva Goods Company Limited.

Dr Li began his systematic training in gymnastics at the age of eight. At the 1982 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, Dr Li achieved an extraordinary feat by winning six gold medals in the all-around, floor exercise, horizontal bar, still rings, pommel horse, and vault categories, becoming the athlete with the most gold medals in a single gymnastics competition for China, and earning the title of “Prince of Gymnastics”. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Dr Li further solidified his legacy by winning a total of six medals – three gold, two silver, and one bronze – making him the most decorated Olympian of the Games.

After his retirement in 1989, Dr Li founded the eponymous brand Li-Ning which specialises in professional sportswear and equipment. Over the past 30 years, he has developed the company's business and made important contributions to the growth of China's sports goods industry. In 2025, the Li-Ning brand will rejoin forces with the Chinese Olympic Committee as its official sportswear partner for the period 2025 to 2028, providing award-winning sportswear for the Chinese sports delegation. Additionally, the Li Ning Group invests in youth sports development, encouraging young people to embrace the joy of sports by sponsoring youth basketball, badminton, table tennis, and football competitions.

Throughout the years, Dr Li has actively supported charitable initiatives through the Li Ning Foundation. Apart from establishing the Chinese Athletes Educational Foundation to fund continuing education and training programmes for both serving and former Chinese athletes and coaches, the foundation has also supported educational development in remote areas in China. In an interview, Dr Li encourages Lingnan University students to seize the opportunities of the era, particularly the significant advancement in the sports industry within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Dr Li will be awarded Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa.

The Hon Liao Cheung-kong Martin

The Hon Liao Cheung-kong Martin, Photo source: Lingnan University

Mr Liao Cheung-kong Martin was born in Hong Kong, though his family roots are in Wuhua County, Guangdong. Mr Liao completed his secondary education in the UK, after which he attended University College London, where he received his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics and Master of Laws degrees. After returning to Hong Kong to practise law, he specialised in commercial, intellectual property, company, and constitutional law, and participated in discussions on legal reform and public policy, earning the respect of his peers for his exceptional advocacy skills and considerable legal knowledge. His unwavering and impartial commitment to the legal profession has significantly advanced the development and practice of the rule of law and the legal system in Hong Kong.

Beyond his practice, Mr Liao has also given generously for the benefit of the community. His public service has included roles in the National People's Congress; the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; the Executive Council of the Hong Kong SAR; the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong SAR; the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong SAR; the District Court; and the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications.

Mr Liao was elected to the Fifth Legislative Council in 2012, representing the Commercial (Second) Functional Constituency. Since then, he has been involved in public governance and social development in Hong Kong, and served as convenor in the Sixth and Seventh Legislative Councils, holding multiple key committee positions driving crucial legal reforms and formulating economic policy. Mr Liao's strong sense of responsibility in matters of constitutional development and national security legislation is revealed in his valuable advice and endeavours in balancing diverse societal views, thus laying a solid foundation for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. In 1988, he joined the Hong Kong Jockey Club and was later elected a Voting Member, Steward and Deputy Chairman of the Club. This August, he was elected Chairman.

In recognition of his benefactions to society, the SAR government has made him a Justice of the Peace, and awarded him the Silver Bauhinia Star, the Gold Bauhinia Star, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal.

Mr Liao will be awarded Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Prof Tao Tang

Prof Tao Tang, Photo source: Lingnan University

Prof Tao Tang is currently the President of Nanfang College, Guangzhou. He has also served as the Dean of the Graduate School and Dean of Science at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), Provost and Vice President (Academic) of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), and President of Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU). Prof Tang is a pre-eminent authority in computational mathematics, and has made significant contributions to the error analysis of numerical methods for hyperbolic equations, the theory of spectral methods, adaptive algorithms for differential equations, high-precision algorithms for phase-field models, and computational fluid dynamics. He has held major leadership roles both internationally and nationally in China, including as a member of the Gauss Prize Committee of the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians, of the Scientific Program Committee of the 2023 International Congress for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and of the State Natural Science Award of China.

Prof Tang has won numerous international awards, including the 1988 Leslie Fox Prize for Numerical Analysis, the 2003 Feng Kang Prize for Scientific Computing, the Ministry of Education's 2007 First Prize of Natural Science Awards, the 2016 Second Prize of National Natural Science Awards, and he was a 2018 Invited Speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). He was elected a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) in 2012, a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017, a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences in 2022, and a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2024.

Prof Tang is extremely enthusiastic about mathematical education. He taught undergraduates calculus even after he became the Dean of Science at the HKBU, the Vice President of SUSTech, and the President of BNBU. In 2010, he co-founded a popular, very influential magazine called Mathematical Culture. He has also given talks to a wide audience on the beauty of mathematics, and its foundational nature in science and engineering.

Prof Tang will be awarded Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Prof Wang Anyi

Prof Wang Anyi, Photo source: Lingnan University

Prof Wang Anyi is one of the very best writers in the contemporary literary scene. She began writing in the 1980s and, during her long career, has published 17 novels, The most widely acclaimed is The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, which won the 5th Mao Dun Literature Prize, the most prestigious national award for full-length novels. It was also selected as one of the 100 Best Chinese Novels of the 20th Century by Asia Weekly in 1999.

Prof Wang has written 38 novellas, and 128 short stories as well, and is also a famous dramatic writer best-known for her cinematic adaptations of Eileen Chang's novels: The Golden Cangue; Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier; and Lust, Caution. The First Brazier was premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in 2020. In addition to prizes for specific works, Prof Wang has received major international awards, including the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature in 2017, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French government in 2022. Her international impact is affirmed by translations of her writing into Bulgarian, Cambodian, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.

An experienced and dedicated educator, Prof Wang held the position of full professor at Fudan University, serving as the Director of the Center for Chinese Literary Creation and Criticism from 2004 to 2024. As a visiting scholar, she has given lectures at many of the world's most famous universities, including Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, The University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, and Yale in the US, the University of Bonn in Germany, Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Waseda University in Japan. Prof Wang's longstanding ties with Lingnan University, and her lengthy list of visiting positions began with her six-month stay at Lingnan as writer-in-residence 20 years ago in 2005.

Prof Wang will be awarded Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa.

Mr Donnie Yen

Mr Donnie Yen, Photo source: Lingnan University

Mr Donnie Yen is an international action star, director, and producer. He was born in Guangzhou, China, and raised in Hong Kong and Boston. Trained by his mother, renowned kung fu grandmaster Bow-sim Mark, as a teenager, he explored diverse disciplines - karate, taekwondo, boxing, and even hip-hop dance - forging a unique style blending techniques of East and West. This signature fusion revolutionised action cinema.

Mr Yen's portrayal of Ip Man elevated him to global stardom. The Ip Man series (2008-2019) became a cultural phenomenon, celebrating Wing Chun and Chinese heritage as well as breaking box office records. Mr Yen also brought legendary Chinese heroes to life, and introduced wuxia to global audiences, bridging Eastern and Western storytelling.

In Hollywood, Mr Yen infused Western films with his dynamic style and also elevated the stature of Chinese actors in international cinema, proving Chinese actors can dominate Hollywood's biggest stages with dignity and artistry. In The Prosecutor (2024), Mr Yen took on the roles of producer, director, and actor, successfully blending traditional legal drama with action sequences, and showcasing his talent as a versatile filmmaker.

Mr Yen's accolades - multiple Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Action Choreography, Golden Horse Awards, Huabiao Awards and the Taurus Award - show his visionary approach. In 2016, he was honoured with imprints of his hands and feet at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, cementing his legacy as a global action icon. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Mr Yen has dedicated decades to humanitarian causes, and is a long-standing ambassador of charity organisations Save the Children and Po Leung Kuk. In 2020, he and his wife Ms Cissy Wang founded the Y.E.N. Charity Foundation, which contributes directly to Youth, the Elderly, and the Needy.

Mr Yen will be awarded Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa.

Does a depressive mood inevitably lead to more pessimistic thinking or over-analysing? A global meta-analysis, the largest of its kind examining the relationship between a depressive mood and reality judgment, co-conducted by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has found that the key lies in the nature of the judgment. Overall, individuals in a depressive mood generally make more accurate judgments when handling self-referent tasks or complex issues requiring deep analysis. However, their accuracy is impaired as regards understanding others and interpreting interpersonal relationships. Researchers noted that the findings clarify a decades-long academic debate in psychology regarding whether a depressive mood allows individuals to perceive reality more objectively, and will aid in designing more targeted intervention strategies. The paper was published in Clinical Psychology Review, a top international academic journal in clinical psychology.

A global meta-analysis co-conducted by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University finds that individuals in a depressive mood can make more accurate judgments in self-referent tasks requiring deep analysis.

The research team, comprising scholars from Lingnan University, the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poland, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, aggregated psychological and clinical studies published globally between 1971 and November 2025 from three leading international academic databases: Web of Science, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Synthesising empirical data from 32,914 participants, the study examined the relationship between a depressive mood and judgmental accuracy across three distinct groups: non-depressed healthy controls, individuals with a self-reported depressive mood via questionnaires, and clinically diagnosed depressed patients, using known objective outcomes as the baseline for comparison.

The team integrated multiple classic psychological behavioural experiments in the study. The first type of experiment was the "green light test", which assessed judgment of control. Participants sat in front of a computer and chose whether or not to press a button to see if a green lightbulb would light up. In reality, the light was entirely randomised by a computer programme. The results showed that the healthy control group tended to believe they had a significant ability to control the light, exhibiting an optimistic bias. Conversely, individuals in a depressive mood understood that they had absolutely no control over the outcome.

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The second type of experiment was the "deception detection task" to test complex analytical capabilities. Participants watched multiple video clips of real people speaking and had to identify who was telling the truth and who was lying. Spotting deception requires multi-step logical deconstruction, representing a complex issue that demands deep analysis. The results indicated that in these complex tasks, individuals in a depressive mood achieved a higher level of analytical accuracy compared to the healthy control group.

The third type of experiment evaluated "other-referent tasks" testing the participants' ability to observe and decode the behaviours, emotional states, or social interactions of others, such as evaluating the actual emotional states of individuals in audio or video clips. The results revealed that the judgmental accuracy of individuals in a depressive mood lagged significantly behind. The study suggested that depressed individuals are more prone to misinterpret others' behaviour and reactions.

The research team explained that the first and second types of experiments involved self-referent judgments, such as evaluating one's own performance, assessing one's ability to influence outcomes, or facing complex tasks requiring multi-step analysis. Individuals in a depressive mood made slightly more accurate judgments than healthy controls because the non-depressed control group commonly exhibited an "optimistic bias". This bias acts as a healthy psychological defence mechanism that maintains self-esteem through over-optimism, causing people to overestimate the extent to which they can control outcomes.

However, the third type of experiment involved other-referent tasks, such as understanding the behaviour of others and interpreting interpersonal relationships. In these scenarios, participants with severe but not moderate or mild depressive symptoms were more prone to judgmental bias and demonstrated lower accuracy. This shows that the relationship between a depressive mood and judgmental accuracy varies significantly depending on the task and context; hence, a blanket assumption that a "depressive mood allows people to see reality more objectively" is inaccurate, especially for those in severe emotional distress, or with sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, or fatigue – all symptoms of clinical depression.

Prof Hodar Lam, lead and corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University.

Prof Hodar Lam, lead and corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychology and Associate Programme Director of the MSc in Work and Organisational Psychology Programme at Lingnan University, stated that this global big-data study spanning nearly half a century provides a vital reference for Hong Kong citizens who face a fast-paced and stressful lifestyle. He said "From an evolutionary perspective, all emotions, positive and negative, help humans to survive. A depressive mood could trigger more analytical, problem-solving rumination and learnings from the negative emotions. A transient depressive mood in daily life is fundamentally different from clinical depression. Experiencing mild, short-term depressive or negative emotions in daily life does not necessarily mean a decline in cognitive capabilities. In tasks involving self-assessment, deep analysis, or complex judgments, individuals in a depressive mood are actually less susceptible to the ‘optimistic bias’ common to the healthy public, allowing them to make a more objective appraisal of their own situation and capabilities."

Prof Lam went on to explain "Society should avoid stereotyping and categorising all depressive moods as a lack of rational judgment. Equally, we must not misunderstand a depressive mood as an inherent advantage, thereby ignoring its potential risks. Since research shows that a depressive mood impairs accuracy in understanding others and interpreting interpersonal relationships, the judgmental bias of participants with more severe symptoms will increase. Therefore, people must take emotional health seriously. This area could become a key focus for future psychological interventions to design more targeted treatment and support strategies."

Prof Lam emphasised that to help others experiencing persistent emotional distress, first show empathy and validation instead of asking them to “think positively or rationally”, because their perceptions could be right. People with deteriorating depressive symptoms, or who find that their work, interpersonal relationships, or daily lives are being affected, are encouraged to seek professional help as a brave and responsible act of self-care.

The study was co-first authored by Dr June Yeung of the Polish Academy of Sciences and an alumna of Lingnan University. To read the full research paper, please visit: Depression and accuracy of judgment: A meta-analysis – ScienceDirect