Yale-China Chinese Language Centre (CLC), formerly the New Asia - Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre, is a

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

language study centre at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university an ...

. The school offers various programmes geared toward different types of students, including Cantonese and Mandarin programmes for foreigners, Mandarin classes for Hong Kongers, and Cantonese classes for Mainland Chinese students and migrants to Hong Kong. The school is headquartered at the CUHK campus in Shatin, and had additional classrooms in Jordan, Kowloon from July 2017 until May 2020.

History

The CLC was established by Jennie Mak Ling in 1961 to teach Cantonese to foreigners. Ling studied at

Diocesan Girls' School Diocesan Girls' School (DGS) (), and Diocesan Girls’ Junior school, one of the oldest girls' schools in Hong Kong and a well known secondary and primary school in Kowloon, HK, was founded in 1860 by the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church (Hong K ...

and

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. After returning to Hong Kong, she began teaching Chinese in her family home. In 1963 the school received support from

New Asia College New Asia College is a constituent college of the Chinese University of Hong Kong located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. History New Asia College was founded in 1949 by Chinese scholars Ch'ien Mu (Qian Mu), Tang Junyi (Tang Chun-i), ...

and the

Yale-China Association The Yale-China Association (), formerly Yale-in-China, is an independent, nonprofit organization which seeks to develop educational programs in and about China and further understanding between Chinese and American people. Founded in 1901 and o ...

and was renamed New Asia–Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre. It moved to New Asia in the spring of 1963. The centre was formally incorporated into the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1974. The centre's partnership with the Yale-China Association (then called Yale-in-China) was a result of the Communist insurgency in China and the subsequent deterioration in relations between the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, which led to "Yale-in-China" being expelled from China, with their properties there seized by the new Chinese government. Yale-in-China therefore started a partnership with New Asia College in Hong Kong. A new headquarters for the school, located at the CUHK campus across the street from University station, was built at a cost of $1.5 million with the support of the Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation. The so-named Fong Shu Chuen Building was opened on 24 January 1980 by Chief Secretary

Jack Cater Sir Jack Cater, (; 21 February 1922 – 14 April 2006) was the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong from 1978 to 1981. Cater was the third Chief Secretary under the Governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose, later Lord MacLehose of Beoch. He was the ...

. This building remains the headquarters of the school. In 1998, the centre launched a Cantonese-language programme for Mainland Chinese students.

Notable alumni

Lindzay Chan Lindzay Chan () is a former chief dancer of the Hong Kong Ballet, and an actress in the Hong Kong cinema and theatre. chan born in Hong Kong, her ancestral hometown is wenchang county, Hainan province. Chan's grandfather was Chan Chak, an admira ...

, dancer *

Gregory Charles Rivers Gregory Charles Rivers (; born 30 April 1965) is an Australian–Hong Kong actor. Biography Rivers hails from Gympie, Queensland, and attended medical school at University of New South Wales, where he was friends with students from Hong Kong ...

, actor * Sujan R. Chinoy, Indian diplomat *

Arthur Li Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, GBM, GBS JP (; born 27 June 1945) is a Hong Kong doctor and politician. He is currently member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the chairman of the Council of the Universi ...

, member of the Executive Council *

Christine Loh Christine Loh Kung-wai, SBS, OBE, JP, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (born 1 February 1956), is a former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, founder of the Citizens Party, and founder of Hong K ...

, undersecretary for the environment *

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, former prime minister of Australia

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Hong Kong 1961 establishments in Hong Kong Academic language institutions Chinese University of Hong Kong Schools of Chinese as a second or foreign language