Passage 1

I am delighted to come to Beijing and share thoughts with my colleagues in the media and my friends from around the globe. Confucius noted that those who seek constant happiness must often change—now, I’m no sage but it is fair to say that we are today confronted by unprecedented change and challenge, and if we don’t adapt and adopt, what Confucius said would be proved true again, and there will be much unhappiness.
    The challenge of fusing past and present is real for media companies. Today we are confronted with an information revolution that is both exciting and unsettling. It is a digital revolution turning traditional business models upside down and creating a new source of wealth, material and social, around the world. However, the digital is a means, not an end. It is a mechanism by which people can transform their lives and to access news and information and entertainment on an unprecedented scale.

The role of a university must be that of the creator of new knowledge and of the promoter of discovery. We must ensure that the benefits of discovery contribute to the progress of the society. While society has always relied on universities to produce and educate the workforce, the reliance on the university as a source of innovation through discoveries and inventions has grown significantly in the past few decades and has become an expectation for the university in the 21st century.
    The creation of new knowledge sometimes has immediate practical applications. But that can never be the only goal. And making it a primary goal will frequently be short-sighted. I believe in the integration of research and teaching, and the importance of student learning from active scholars involved and committed to new knowledge and research. I am convinced that universities can and should be the wellsprings of innovation and new opportunity in the 21st century.