A Funny New Name for HUST?!
cai 发表于 2000/05/02 09:23 华中科技大学校友论坛 (www.hust.org)
>From: "Forrest Zhong" <fzhong @ transpac-capital . com>
>Subject: A Funny New Name for HUST?!
>Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 21:50:06 +0800
Dear All,
Sadly bad news about HUST keeps coming. This time the change of name: Hua
Tong University, taking the first initials from HUST and Tong-Ji Medical
university to reflect the merge between the two universities.
The new name is so funny that even the Ministry of Education (MoE) does not
want to approve it. But HUST, leaded by a handful trying to make history
through creating a new university, is determined to push it through by
sending the lobbists to Beijing. The authority of HUST believes it is a too
good deal to lose, sacrifying its own name in exchange for merging with Tong
Ji Medical College. However, those mechanical-engineers-turned education
reformers are too smart to realize that they are destroying brand names of
both HUST and Tong Ji. I believe it would be the worst scenario that all
HUSTers would like to see in the current University Mergers & Acquisitions
movement in China: HUST is virtually taking over by an unknown university
and disappears forever.
Do HUST and tens of thousands HUST alumni dserve such lousy name? The answer
is no. This result is purely out of the mechanical thinkings from the HUST
leaders who are trying to make HUST a comprehensive university by using four
characters in its name, and to show TongJi respect to make Tong Ji happy by
keeping its initial in the new name. There is no requirement at all by MoE
for HUST to change its name to accomodate Tong Ji's merge with HUST.
The question is, can HUST become a great comprehensive university just by
assuming a shorter four-word name? Does Science & Technology in its name in
any way hinder HUST to have a good medical school or managment school? We do
not need a PhD to give no answer to such a simple question.
There is saying that name change is the pre-condition set out by Tong Ji for
the merger scheme. HUST should say no to such unreasonable terms in the
first place since Tong Ji does not have any bargaining power at all (TongJi
relying on HUST to become an official univeristy under MoE). If HUST did
promise such pre-condition to Tong Ji, as an option for damage control, HUST
should do its best to keep its own identity by minimum changes in its
original name. Such options include (1). retain its English name as it is
but changing its Chinese name as Huazhong Ke-Ji Da-Xue; (2). changing to
Huazhong University by dropping words of Sci. & Tech. from its name. It is
said that option (2) was opposed by provincial government officials as they
think Huazhong Normal University should have the intellectual right on the
name of Huazhong University. In such case, the option (1) becomes the only
feasible option and we should support the scheme, i.e., keep HUST's English
name unchanged and change Chinese name to Huazhong Ke-Ji Da-Xue.
If you do concern HUST's future and our own image as HUST alumni, please air
your voices to strongly oppose the jokingly new name of Hua Tong University!
Please circulate this message and get more supports for the survival of
HUST.
Zhong Xiaolin
A HUST alumnus in Hong Kong
>From: LIU Liming [mailto:liulim @ ust . hk]
>Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 11:18 AM
Dear Friends,
I would like to propose the following new strategies (background infor to
follow):
1. If MoE wants/supports HUST to change name then we demand MoE to do the
following
(1) MoE takes full responsibility for whatever damages that may
occur as results of the name change
(2) Promote the new name on behalf of the new university, using
central government's power and resources
(3) Zhou Ji step down so that he can work in Hubei government
entirely.
(4) MoE forms a search committee including the Minister
of Education (or a senior vice minister), the Presidents of
Tsing Hua and Beida, the past Presidents of HUST and a few
well known professors from HUST and Tongji. The search for the
new president should be worldwide and the university should
be allowed to new president workout a package that can attract
the best suitable people with a committement.
The search committee should be given 6 to 9
month to complete the search. In the mean time, MoE should
appoint to Vice minister to be the caretaker president (all
this will help to promote the new name and new university.
MoE wants HUST to take a lead to change name, we also want
MoE to support the new university to take a lead in some real
reforms to compensate the negative image of name change
(5) New university be given vice ministerial rank immediately
(6) Provide at least the same amount of merging fund as Xian
Jiaotong
(7) All HUST's past graduates are intitled of the new diploma in
the new name.
Or
2. Against plan to merge with Tongji if it insists changing HUST's name
With either 1 or 2, we need to mobilize as many HUSTers as possible to
voice our opinion to the central and Hubei government. (please send
email directly if you can and care)
best,
Liming
Background: To the overseas friends, I apologize for not keeping you guys
updated in the developments. Our first letter reached #2 at the top
echelon, but it may not have much effects. Now that all are focused
on Taiwan, I don't think we should push the top echelon. In the last
few weeks there are the following developments (in time sequence):
(1) State Council issued a directive that Tongji Medical and Wuhan
Cheng Jian would merge to HUST
(2) HUST consider possible names for the new university, including:
a. Huazhong University
b. HUST
c. Changiang Univeristy
d. Hauxia University
e. Jihua University (Tong JI, HUAzhong)
(3) HUST informed 6 alumni associations (standing committee
members of the all HUST alumni association) that they will be
invited to discuss the new name
(4) To avoit opposing opinons, the HUST leaders (Zhou Ji most
likely) suddenly decided to pass the name change motion within
administrative represnetatives) and not inviting any alumni
(5) We heard of this news in (4). Since they want to submit the
proposed name change to MoE immediately for approval (we later
learnt that they planned to change to Huaxia University), we
wrote a letter to Chen Zhi Li (Minister of Education) signed
by four officiers of alumni associations
Ye (Shenzhen), Zhou (Beijin), Wang (Louyang), Liu (Hong Kong)
strongly oppose changing HUST's name (see attached in Chinese)
(6) The letter was quickly passed to Zhou Ji who then asked VPs of
HUST to organized meeting with alumni associations of Beijing,
Shenzhen (around 10,000 alumni there), Wuhan, Changsha,
Louyang and Guangzhou).
(7) In the meeting, it was revealed that if there are any opposing
opinions that may cause instability, the merge plan will not
be implemented. That is why they wanted the meeting to
pursvate those opposed to changing name. The opinions of the
6 associations representatives were divided. Zhu Jiu Shi came
to the meeting uninvited and gave an 1 hour lecture strongly
against changing the name. At the end, though, he said since
the VPs worked very hard for a few months, he would like to
give them one way out, that is they could change to Huazhong U
if they have to change name (Since a few Huazhong Normal U
professors oppose HUST to use Huazhong U., MoE had been against
this
name), if they cannot use Huazhong then keep HUST. This
opinion was agreed by Shenzhen, Beijing, and Changsha.
Guangzhou agreed to whatever the leaders chose. WUhan oppose
any change.
(8) When we heard of this outcome, we believed Zhou Ji would
consider it a victory because he would claim "they" agreed to
change name.
(9) As expected, HUST distributed a minute (without the approval
of the participants) claiming all have agreed to change name
to Huazhong U. But this in a way gave us a point to attack
since it is very inaccurate and without the approval of the
participants. Ye wrote a letter (see attached in Chinese) and
has distributed to HUST and some alumni associations
(10)Just got email from Ye that HUST insists to change name by
the end of March.
> From: Yidao Cai <cai @ nba71 . med . uth . tmc . edu>
> To: Albert Ye <sztsaint @ public . szptt . net . cn>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2000 1:12 PM
> Subject: Re: Discussing
>
>
> > Thanks, Albert. I agree with you guys. 3A is the best. People from
> > Tongji should realize that changing to another name may make them
> > feel better in a short time, but will hurt them in the long run.
> > If they can think of the interest of the new (unified) university,
> > they should agree with this plan.
> >
> > BTW, ST (Science and Technology) in HUST should not be the reason
> > for not using HUST. The health sciences at MIT did not suffer due to
> > the name MIT, and I don't think that Tongji will lose anything being
under
> > HUST.
> >
> > HUST was lucky that the last wave of name change did not affect its
> > reputation outside China, because it did not change its English name.
> > We really don't want to damage the reputation of this great university
> > which was established after PRC.
> >
> > Yidao Cai
> >
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