To Serve and to Lead

Mr. Fung Yee Wang has a teaching/administrative experience spanning the whole spectrum of formal education from primary school to graduate studies, having taught in the Chi Lin Primary School, the Diocesan Boys’ School, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for a total of 36 years. He was Sports Master at DBS, Warden of Old Halls at HKU and Head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at CUHK. Specializing in extracurricular activities, student activism and geographical education, and devoted to the teaching of Chinese at the secondary level, Mr. Fung has published about 100 articles and over 10 books and a prize-winning video in these fields. His textbooks on map reading and world atlas, first published in 1963 and 1975 respectively, were used by most secondary schools in Hong Kong and many in Macau. Dr. Moira Chan-Yeung has over 40 years of experience in research and scholarship, having published 350 peer-reviewed articles, numerous book chapters and several books. A world authority on occupational asthma, she was instrumental in having it recognized as a compensable disease and setting up criteria for assessing respiratory impairment/disability in patients with asthma. She was given the Alice Hamilton Award for “Major and Lasting Contribution in Occupational Health” from the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society in recognition of her contributions. A student of the Diocesan Girls’ School, she studied physics and chemistry for three years in DBS before entering medicine in the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She returned to HKU in 1998 as Chair Professor of Respiratory Disease. Dr. Chan-Yeung is currently a Professor Emeritus of Medicine, University of British Columbia, an Honorary Clinical Professor of Medicine, HKU, and a consultant to the World Health Organization.

“The DBS story over the past 140 years tells us not just the school’s hard struggle to become one of the best in Hong Kong, producing many outstanding alumni who lead in the professions and actively serve the community. It is also a testimony to Hong Kong’s trajectory towards success as the most international city of China—a process in which education has played such an important part.” —Anthony Bing-leung Cheung, President of The Hong Kong Institute of Education and Member of the Executive Council, Hong Kong

“The history of DBS has reflected an era of social change and educational development in Hong Kong. Throughout its 140 years, the school has encountered many major conflicts: between the school and the government, within the School Committee and between the school administration and the staff and/or students. The freedom, openness and tolerance in the school culture, as exemplified in the democratic way these conflicts were handled, are values that we, as educators, should promote.” —Cheung Man Kwong, President of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union and Member of the Legislative Council, Hong Kong

“In this book, the history of DBS is seen in the context of the sociopolitical and educational settings in Hong Kong and beyond. At a time of rapid developments and heated debates, it is imperative that all educational workers, teachers and administrators alike, should have a clear understanding of why and how we arrived at where we are today. From this point of view, the book has a much greater value than just a school history.” —Li Yuet Ting, Director of Education (1987–92), Hong Kong

“The authors have strategically and judiciously divided the material into a chronological section and a thematic one. The selection and use of sources and information by the authors is critical, meticulous and intelligent. They have achieved a good balance between the school old-timer’s sentiments and nostalgia and the historian’s more objective perspective. The book should appeal to past students and teachers of the school as well as the broader reading public; both general and academic readers will find good value in it.” —Bernard Hung-kay Luk, Professor of History, York University, Canada