Dr Roland Soong

In February 2009, Dr Roland Soong (宋以朗), executor of the late Ms Eileen Chang’s (張愛玲) estate, generously made a donation to HKU to establish a scholarship in memory of the late Ms Eileen Chang, the notable Chinese writer.

Ms Chang studied at HKU’s Faculty of Arts between 1939 and 1941 where she excelled academically and received two scholarships. When Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese, she was forced to suspend her studies and return to Shanghai. However, the two years she spent in Hong Kong were critical to her later emergence as a legend in the world of literature. Ms Chang passed away in 1995. In 2009, Dr Soong decided to publish her autobiographical novel, the “Little Reunion (小團圓)”.

On the occasion of the book’s launch, Dr Soong set up a scholarship fund at HKU to support female undergraduate students from the Chinese Mainland or Taiwan to pursue studies in the Arts and Humanities. Dr Soong felt that it would be Ms Chang’s wish to create opportunities for students with backgrounds similar to hers, so that they could be freed from financial constraints and able to prosper and excel.