Alumnus Cheong U studied at the University of East Asia (UEA), the predecessor of the University of Macau (UM). Having worked in many different positions, from the Head of Commission Against Corruption of Macau to the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macau, he had served the Macao SAR government for several decades. Currently, he is one of the Macau members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Honorary President of Macau Travellers Association. Apart from the public service career, he is also known as a traveller who is passionate about travelling, hiking and photography. In order to fulfill his dream of travelling around the world, Cheong has continued to travel to different places after leaving the MSAR government. In recent years, he has published over a thousand travel articles in newspapers and social media, becoming an online travel influencer who aims to bring happiness to people through sharing his travelling experiences. In addition, he also organized many volunteer activities related to poverty alleviation and study tours while pursuing his dream, in order to promote the spirit of giving back to society and empower people to stay positive.
Travelling across thousands of miles to broaden horizons
Cheong had been to 7 continents and more than 100 countries. When he shared his experiences of taking long-distance trains to mainland cities and being a backpacker in Europe, he expressed that traveling abroad allowed him to have a better understanding of the customs and cultures of different countries, allow him to learn from others, broaden his horizons and develop virtues like patience and humility. Nowadays, many people are living with fast-paced life, as real happiness comes from “the spiritual nourishment for the soul with gratitude”, traveling can help people to slow down and listen to their hearts by immersing themselves into the natural landscapes. Thus, every trip can be considered as a spiritual enrichment journey.
In order to share his travel adventures with the public, he used to write traveling articles in newspapers and social media and had published travel adventure notes such as “Being a Backpacker to the World’s Wonders” and “Self Drive Adventures to the World”. This year, he co-published another travel adventure collection note titled “From Macao to the World” with the University of East Asia Open College Students’ Association (UEASA) to depict the travel adventure stories of 10 Macao people, aiming to share those wonderful travel adventures with readers, let them experience the world and the happiness of life from local perspectives.
Love without boundaries
While fulfilling his traveling dream, Cheong also gave back to the society through organizing different volunteer activities. He shared that his idea of organizing “study tours” to improve the educational quality for young people in the remote areas of the Mainland was inspired by one of his visits to Mainland; he said, “At that time, I was thinking of organizing some community services activities which aim to encourage the younger generation in Macao to give back to the society and make contribution to the motherland.” He hoped that through these “help people help themselves” activities, people could cherish the things around them, understand the beauty of life and live a prosperous and happy life.
Words and Congratulatory Message to UM
UM is committed to promote all-round education to students through a collaborative whole-person education system, which is dedicated to nurturing innovative and socially responsible talents. The University has organized many community services and cultural exchange activities to the cities in Mainland and other countries; through constant participation into these activities, students can increase their understanding of their country and assist the vulnerable groups, which has coincided perfectly with Cheong’s idea of organizing “study tours”. This year marks the 40th anniversary of UM, Cheong wished his Alma Mater to nurture more talents for the society. He also encouraged UM students to actively participate into different interest groups, exchange programmes and volunteer activities to broaden their horizons, gain experiences and cultivate themselves with positive values. Furthermore, he also suggested the alumni to seek for self-enhancement, improve their problem-solving skills, stay tuned with the latest news and national development and seize opportunities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) for personal development.
