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.

Leading international industrial media outlet Control Global has announced that Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, has been inducted into the 2026 Process Automation Hall of Fame in recognition of his long-term outstanding contributions and far-reaching impact in industrial data analytics, process control and automation, the only scholar from the Hong Kong SAR to receive this distinction. Inductees over the years have been key figures driving industrial technological innovation and theoretical breakthroughs, and the accolade is held in very high esteem by both the international academic and industrial communities.

Control Global commended Prof Qin’s academic career for its distinctive interdisciplinary nature, saying that with training spanning electrical engineering, control theory, and chemical engineering, he has demonstrated remarkable versatility across disciplines, and published extensively in process monitoring, system identification, chemometrics, and machine learning.

Prof Qin responded “Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is not the capstone of my academic journey, but rather a prompt for me to share my experiences more openly, including both the right and wrong paths I have taken, so that younger generations may benefit. This spirit of academic inheritance and selfless contribution is a value I hope to carry forward. My best advice to young engineers is to resist the pull of short-term rewards, recognise the full arc you are capable of, and always keep the bigger picture in sight.”

In a feature titled “Engineering a lifetime of reinvention”, Control Global describes Prof Qin’s interdisciplinary academic journey, noting his unusual background. The professor was born in Rizhao, Shandong province, and grew up during a period when formal schooling was limited, yet by the time he was 11 he had already taught himself to make wooden chairs to earn a living. When the higher education system reopened, Prof Qin seized the opportunity to gain admission to Tsinghua University at the age of 16 with the top scores in his cohort to study automatic control, laying the foundation for his engineering career.

Prof Qin recalls in the interview that while he was at Tsinghua University, he met the renowned scholar Prof Harmon Ray, who was visiting the campus and who advised him to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Maryland - “life changing” advice. During his doctoral studies, he embarked on early research into how machines learn, examining neural networks’ strengths and limitations from a statistical perspective. After graduation, he became a principal engineer at Emerson Process Management, where he developed two commercial products successfully before returning to academia to teach and conduct research at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California.

Looking ahead, Prof Qin predicts that while industry has accumulated vast amounts of data over the past decades, its full value has yet to be realised due to previous limitations in computational power. Now although computing capabilities have advanced significantly in recent years, technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning remain underutilised in chemical engineering, and Prof Qin believes that applying advanced analytics to process monitoring, control, and optimisation will represent an unprecedented opportunity. He emphasises that the next generation of process engineers will need to be as fluent in data analytics and machine learning as they are in thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.

Prof S. Joe Qin, President of Lingnan University, has been inducted into the Process Automation Hall of Fame

Prof Qin also expresses concern about developments in engineering education, observing that, compared with 30 years ago, mathematical training in engineering programmes is weaker, and it has become more difficult to offer very rigorous courses. This is partly because most people want a programme where even the average student understands most of the concepts and graduates easily, although in the long run this may undermine the cultivation of advanced mathematical talent. Prof Qin suggests that universities create deliberately designed environments for mathematically gifted students to be challenged at an appropriate level, in order to preserve academic depth and international competitiveness.

Established in 2001, the Process Automation Hall of Fame recognises scholars and industry leaders for their outstanding contributions to process automation and control. The other inductees this year are Prof Manfred Morari of the University of Pennsylvania, an eminent international authority in modern systems engineering, and Prof Peter Morgan, longtime process engineer with Syncrude Canada and now an independent consultant.

For the full feature article, please visit: Engineering a lifetime of reinvention: 2026 Process Automation Hall of Fame's S. Joe Qin | Control Global