dognovel Chapter 583: A New Idea
Chapter 583: A New Idea
The atmosphere in the conference room of the administration building of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics was so heavy that it was suffocating. Everyone present already knew that Huang Xiaochuan had won the Clark Medal, and all of them looked uncomfortable.
Huang Xiaochuan's direct supervisor, Zhuang Yonghua, the dean of the School of Economics, was filled with resentment. He looked at the president and vice president Hong Yongze with dissatisfaction. If these two hadn't agreed to Huang Xiaochuan's resignation, how could this situation have arisen? He had strongly opposed Huang Xiaochuan's resignation at the beginning, but he couldn't win against the powerful and eventually signed the document.
"Comrades!" The principal's voice was hoarse and heavy. "As you all know, Professor Huang, no, Dr. Huang Xiaochuan, has won this year's Clark Medal. This is the highest recognition of his academic achievements by the international economics community, and it is also the pride of our Chinese economics community!" The principal felt a burning sensation on his face when he said the word "pride".
"But!" he raised his voice, a hint of heartache in his tone, "As everyone knows, the affiliation of the award winners is blank in the official announcement of AEA! This means that this historic honor has nothing to do with our university."
Upon hearing the principal's words, the hall fell silent. Some shook their heads in regret, while others lowered their heads in shame. Zhuang Yonghua's eyes flashed with resentment and bitterness, and at this moment he harbored great resentment towards the principal and vice-principal.
The principal avoided Zhuang Yonghua's gaze and said with deep sorrow, "We must reflect deeply on this matter. Why would such an outstanding scholar be subjected to such questioning and investigation here? Why didn't we do better when he needed support and protection the most? Why did he ultimately choose to leave, and in such a way that he completely severed ties with us?"
Hong Yongze spoke, his voice low but clear: "Principal, fellow committee members, I must remind you all again that the media will soon be swarming us, and the academic community will be raising various opinions and questions. How should we respond? Should we pretend we don't know, or..."
Before Hong Yongze could finish speaking, an academic committee member interrupted him excitedly: "Contact him! Contact Professor Huang immediately. Although he has resigned, his title has not been revoked. After contacting him, we should express our warmest congratulations, admit that the school's previous work had been negligent, apologize to him, and let him feel our sincerity. We also earnestly request that he speak up for us in future media interviews, even just mentioning that he was once an associate professor at our school would be helpful."
The suggestion was met with support from most people, but some poured cold water on it: "I'm not trying to be discouraging, but given Professor Huang's personality, after what he just went through, do you think he'd want to be associated with our university? Don't forget why he left!"
This bucket of cold water brought the meeting to a standstill. Contacting Huang Xiaochuan became the only hope for salvaging their reputation; not contacting him meant swallowing the bitter pill alone, enduring external ridicule and internal questioning. But how could they contact Huang Xiaochuan, who had already resigned and left? On what grounds?
Ultimately, the meeting reached a decision that the university would convey its sincere congratulations to Huang Xiaochuan, while requiring a unified message to be given to the public: Huang Xiaochuan was once an outstanding teacher of the university, his award is a reflection of his personal academic ability, the university is proud of him and congratulates him, and strictly prohibits anyone from making inappropriate remarks.
Soon, the school's office and publicity department were inundated with calls from various domestic and international media outlets. The faculty and staff of the university gave a unified response to the reporters' inquiries. Fortunately, the semester had not yet started, otherwise there would have been even more stories!
Upon learning the news, the old man was overjoyed and wept. This was the first internationally renowned economics award that China had ever received. Moreover, before the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded in 1969, the Clark Medal was the highest honor in the field of economics. The old man felt extremely gratified and proud that his last disciple had received this honor.
Congratulatory calls and emails poured in from all over the world. Professors from top universities such as Princeton, Harvard, IT, and LSE, economists from major banks and international organizations such as IF, and even some academic giants he had never met but had long admired all sent emails to express their sincere congratulations.
Many well-known media outlets around the world have also sent emails requesting interviews with Huang Xiaochuan.
Huang Xiaochuan chose to keep a low profile, declining all interview requests and issuing a brief written statement through Soso.com and Yuho.com. The core message was twofold: first, he expressed his deep honor at receiving the John Bates Clark Medal and thanked the judging panel and academic colleagues for their recognition; second, he explained that due to his busy personal schedule, he was not accepting any interviews at the moment.
Although the statement was brief, it was watertight and made no mention of the past, which thwarted some media outlets that wanted to dig up some sensational content. However, the more low-key he was, the more curious the outside world became about him. Moreover, his photo appeared in many newspapers and on television news, and people immediately compared it with the photo of him that appeared in tabloids shortly after he arrived in Hong Kong.
This brought Huang Xiaochuan's past dealings with the Dadao Group back into the spotlight, this time with the added title of academic luminary, further stirring the Hong Kong elite's circle. No one like him had ever appeared in Hong Kong's history before: a recipient of a top economics award, coupled with speculation that he was the behind-the-scenes boss of the Dadao Group—he was practically an academic money-maker. Naturally, countless people wanted to include him in Hong Kong's wealthy social circles in hopes of securing collaborations. Cao Charlie's role as a shield became even more arduous, but his status rose accordingly.
Huang Xiaochuan, however, had a new idea. He planned to establish an independent economic research institution in Hong Kong, and he had already thought of a name for it: "Xiangjiang Institute of Economic Research" (Xier in English).
Once established, this economic research institution will be completely independent of any university or official institution. All funding will primarily come from donations from his personal and affiliated foundations to ensure the independence and freedom of academic research, free from excessive interference from administrative or commercial interests.
Future research will focus on cutting-edge areas of global economics and finance, such as fintech, new trends in globalization, macroeconomic policy assessment, and deep-seated issues in the economic development of Greater China, such as industrial upgrading, regional integration, and central competitiveness, striving to produce numerous research results that can benefit people's livelihoods and the development of the local economy.
Huang Xiaochuan also plans to use his status as a newly awarded Clark Medal winner to recruit top economists, financial experts, and senior policy analysts from around the world to serve as full-time researchers. Of course, Huang Xiaochuan knows the principle of spending a fortune to acquire talent, so he will provide these top talents with generous salaries and research support, create a free and relaxed academic environment that encourages innovation, and establish scholarships and visiting scholar programs to attract outstanding young scholars from around the world.
Huang Xiaochuan envisions this institution as an open and collaborative platform that will establish in-depth partnerships with top universities, research institutions, international organizations, and Chinese universities, and host high-level international academic conferences.
Therefore, he summoned Charlie Cho to his office and entrusted him with this matter.
"The research institute must be located in a quiet area with a good environment and convenient transportation. I will personally bear the initial investment. I will set up a special donation fund for long-term operation. Charlie, you will take the lead in this matter and set up a special preparatory team. I want to see Xier officially launched and operational within a year."
Charlie Cao, of course, understood the significance of this matter, and he immediately replied, "Understood, Mr. Huang! I will immediately set about assembling the most capable team."
Having followed Huang Xiaochuan for so many years, Cao Charlie's perspective on things has changed dramatically. He realized that once the research institute is completed, it will not only become a pillar of international academic influence, but also help Dadao Group reach a new peak.