Mr James Au-Yeung and Professor Donna Chu (first and second from the left) invited resident tutors to their home
Mr James Au-Yeung has been teaching for more than thirty years and served as the principal of two secondary schools. After early retirement, he ran a bed and breakfast in Taiwan for a short period of time until the pandemic ended. He joined Shaw College when his wife Professor Donna Chu took up the position of warden of Kuo Mou Hall in 2022, and was appointed as the Honorary Warden of Kuo Mou Hall by the College.
When Mr Au-Yeung was asked about his impression of the College before he became a Shawer, he said Shawers were “famous” for being active and energetic, the activities they organised were colourful and particularly interesting. Mr Au-Yeung participated in nearly all the large-scale College activities these two years when he served as Honorary Warden. Being asked about his favourite event, Mr Au-Yeung said without hesitation that it would be Thousand-People-Feast where nearly one thousand people had “poon choi” at Shaw Road and watched exciting performance together with a lively atmosphere. He said with a smile, “Being surrounded by so many young people, I feel myself became young again at this age!”
From Shaw Road to student hostel, Mr Au-Yeung had been enjoying the interaction with resident students. One night when he was sleeping, he suddenly woke up because of an "earthquake". Later, his wife told him that it was sound of “Dem Beat” when the proposed cabinet of the executive committee of the resident association was doing promotion. He could still clearly remember the first time he saw “Dem Beat” when he opened the door of his room. “It is normal to be noisy in young people’s world. It would be fine as long as it is done in an appropriate way and does not disturb others. I am very much used to it personally. No problem!” He even took some snacks to the students at that time as an encouragement, and now he occasionally invited resident students to his home.
Mr Au-Yeung used the word “gratitude” as an interim conclusion for the past two years as Honorary Warden. Becoming neighbours with students allowed him to remain in close contact with young people after retirement, the inspiration between each other could be described as a valuable teaching and learning experience.
This article was originally published in the Newsletter of the College, Shaw Link in Feb 2025.