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Philanthropist receives honorary doctor's degree
By Lu Hongyan and Ge Lin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-10-17 12:46

XI'AN: Tian Jia-bing, a 90-year-old philanthropist from Hong Kong, has been awarded an honorary doctor's degree by Xi'an Jiaotong University in the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

It will be Tian's only honorary doctor's degree on the Chinese mainland according to relevant regulations of the State Council Academic Degree Office, said Zheng Nanning, president of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Tian is the fifth holder of a doctor's degree from the prestigious university, he added.

Tian said in the degree conferring ceremony that he felt honored to receive the degree, for the Chinese mainland has very high standards for anyone receiving an honorary doctor's degree.

The best way for China with a population of 1.3 billion to become strong is through education. And he hopes that every child in the country can receive education and constantly strive to become stronger.

In 1982, Tian, an industrialist, set up the Tian Jia-bing Foundation and donated 80 per cent of his assets surpassing HK$1 billion to education, medical care and communications. He even sold the house he had lived for more than 30 years and lived in apartments instead to support education.

Tian has supported development of education in 75 institutions of higher learning on the Chinese mainland, and almost all teachers' colleges in China have received financial aid from him, said Qiu Jing, vice-president of Xi'an Jiaotong University.