e-Bulletin December 2024

獅子山精神 (Lion Rock Spirit) and Public Health
Nurturing Resilience and Solidarity for Health and Success in Hong Kong

I was drawn to Hong Kong as a public health professor because of its legendary good health, successful tobacco control, and news that it was investing in my own specialty area of comprehensive primary health care. Before my arrival I spent weeks checking social media to learn more about my new home. One of the buzzwords that I gleaned about Hong Kong from Reddit was Lion Rock Spirit.

Lion Rock Spirit is a term familiar to the generation of Hong Kong residents that grew up in the 1970s boom times of high economic growth built on hard work, a can-do attitude, resilience, and optimism. As I started my work here, I wondered how much of this spirit would remain 50 years later and after tremendous political and economic changes.

To be honest, my frame of reference is mostly our School, but I have to remark that on HKU campus we have ample “can do” attitude. To be indomitable is not all genetic. There is much that we have to learn from our families and peers. Just as we learn it, we teach it and model it. Perseverance is a choice we make every day. We overcome the vicissitudes of grant competitions, deadlines, contracts, paperwork, and the infamous reviewer number 3. We keep going — trying to balance our work at the School with our obligations to our families and loved ones. One of the key realizations is that the solidarity of working with others makes it easier to keep going and to succeed. While individual efforts can achieve swift results, it is through collective action and unity that we can truly achieve enduring success and overcome challenges together.

The people of Hong Kong look to our university staff for more inspiration. We are critical guardians of this community’s will to succeed. When our students go out for their practicum placements or patient care project assignments, they are ambassadors for Lion Rock Spirit. They simultaneously teach and learn that by working together we create the solidarity that is the foundation of public health. The complex challenges of climate resilience, NCDs, pandemic preparedness, and mental health demand solutions from intersectoral partnerships. Lion Rock Spirit is a choice we all make. Guarding this flame is our contribution to the Faculty of Medicine, the University, and the larger community around us.

Professor David Bishai
Director and Clinical Professor
School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong