Savantas Policy Institute

Mrs Ip worked for the Hong Kong Government for 28 years and had served in a wide range of areas including democratization of local government, international trade and industry and security. She was the first woman to be appointed the head of a disciplined service (Immigration Department) (1996-98) and as Secretary for Security of Hong Kong (1998-2003). In Spring 2003, at the invitation of the Asian Languages Department of Stanford University to join the Department as a Visiting Research Scholar, Mrs Ip submitted her resignation from the Government in pursuit of her studies in the U.S. As part of her M.A. program, Mrs Ip has written several papers on the economic and political development of Asia, including her dissertation. Having spent three years in Stanford, Mrs Ip returned to Hong Kong in June 2006 with the goal of building a stronger, better, happier and more progressive society.

I worked for the Hong Kong Government from 1975 to 2003. During that time, I had served in a wide range of areas including democratization of local government, international trade and industry and security. As Director General of Industry (1995-96) I served as Hong Kong!|s Senior Official on Small and Medium Enterprises and Industrial Science and Technology in APEC. In the run-up to Hong Kong!|s transfer of sovereignty I had served as a member of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group on transitional arrangements in the areas of nationality and travel documentation, establishment of the Court of Final Appeal, and the Right of Abode (as team leader of the British side in 1996-97). I was the first woman to be appointed the head of a disciplined service (Immigration Department) (1996-98) and as Secretary for Security of Hong Kong (1998-2003)

In the summer of 2002 I went to the US to make enquiries about placing my daughter in a boarding school there as well as returning to graduate school myself. In Spring 2003, the Asian Languages Department of Stanford University invited me to join the Department as a Visiting Research Scholar with effect from the academic year 2003-04. On receipt of the invitation, I informed the Chief Executive of my intention to resign my position as Secretary for Security for personal reasons.

My daughter is now happily settled in her boarding school in Southern California and has made great strides in her studies. As for my myself, I also studied hard in a wide range of areas at Stanford: Chinese Literature, Chinese History, Chinese Philosophy, Applied Linguistics, Japanese, Comparative Democratic Development. The past three years have been highly rewarding in terms of the new insights I gained into the political and social organization of post-industrial societies, as well as the on-going need for economic restructuring to meet the challenge of the knowledge-based economy.

I have been admitted to both the Chinese Ph.D. program in the Asian Languages Department and the MA program in the Center of East Asian Studies at Stanford. On the completion of my MA program, and in the light of what I have learned about democratic development, I decided to bid farewell to the beautiful campus of Stanford, and return to Hong Kong to serve my own community. I hope I will be able to contribute what I have learned toward the building of a stronger, better, happier and more progressive Hong Kong.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, watching good movies, working out in a gym and traveling. In the current post-materialist phase of my life I treasure serving my community much more than things material, and hope that you will join me in creating a better Hong Kong.