Professor and Mrs Charles K. Kao wish to express their gratitude to their friends, all staff, students and alumni at CUHK, members of the media, and the people of Hong Kong, by the following Open Letter.
Since the announcement on 6 October 2009 that Charles has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics, we have received messages from friends from all over the world via the internet, fax, and email. We are overwhelmed by the sea of congratulatory messages from so many people, and the many requests for interviews from the media.
A Nobel Laureate of Chinese ethnicity is a rare event and we understand the outpouring of happiness and pride for our people throughout the world wherever they live. The Nobel Prize is an international prize and has been awarded for work done internationally.
Charles Kao was born in Shanghai, China, did his primary research in 1966 at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) in Harlow, UK, followed through with work in the USA at ITT, over the following 20 years, to develop fiber optics into a commercial product and finally came to CUHK, Hong Kong in 1987 to pass on his knowledge and expertise to a new generation of students and businessmen. Charles really does belong to the world!
In this open letter, we would like to thank all who have concern for his health. Unfortunately there is no cure at present for Alzheimer’s. Charles shares this problem of coping with Alzheimer with other eminent persons, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, to name a few. Charles keeps fit playing tennis and with other exercises. He does not smoke, he enjoys eating and drinking in healthy moderation and sleeps well too. The memory loss is getting more severe, but he enjoys life.
He is eminently proud of his past achievements and excited at becoming a Nobel Laureate – an unexpected award. The press and media have interviewed him and he is happy they have found all the facts they need. So he is more than ready to return to a quiet and undisturbed life now, and he asks that the media respect this.
Our greetings to everyone in Hong Kong, to staff, faculty and students past and present of CUHK, to all our very good friends and especially to our tennis friends. Thank you for all your good wishes and congratulations. Now you know who is responsible for the fiber optical cables that enables all the excessive information, both true and false, good and bad, that circulate on the internet.
Charles and May Wan Kao
13 October 2009
