Student
Nicole Nie Dongyao
I am a journalist in DC and a former student of Prof. Lau. I was deeply sad hearing that he passed away and really appreciate... [the] opportunity for me to pay tribute to him.
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In Memory of My Little Brother Dr. T.Y. Lau
On May 18, 2019 it was our saddest day that our little brother, Dr. Lau T.Y. passed away after fighting with cancer.
In my memory, T.Y. was a very independent and self-discipline person even though when he was in primary school. Our parents
never needed to concern or worry about his schooling. He got accepted by St. Paul Boys School. After graduated from High School,
he enrolled into Chinese University major in Mass Communication and Journalism. After his first degree, he worked for TVB for
several years. He really enjoyed what he did. Mass Communication was his life. He decided to upgrade himself so, he got his Master
Degree at Stanford University.
He was a walking book for his profession. That was why he proceeded to complete his doctoral degree gradually. He loved teaching
people who would like to be journalists.
Unfortunately, he got cancers that kept him to slow down a little bit. But, he was a real fighter for cancers. Until his last minute
he still did not want to give up.
Now I wish that he went to a more comfortable place to continue his unfinished dream.
I am a journalist in DC and a former student of Prof. Lau. I was deeply sad hearing that he passed away and really appreciate... [the] opportunity for me to pay tribute to him.
My sincerest condolences to Dr Lau's family. Our well-loved and respected classmate Dr Lau TY will always be in our heart.
His optimistic attitude towards life and great contribution to the mass media field will forever be remembered.
Attached is a photo taken in 1976 summer in Stanley in Hong Kong when Dr Lau and his classmate visited their teacher.
May Dr Lau rest in peace.
The sadness of T.Y.’s passing cannot erase the joy he spread during his life. He was excited by knowledge and he always wore a smile.
He is certainly one of my favorite doctoral students. I used his dissertation as an example of outstanding work many times in classes.
The happy memories of our time together will remain in my heart.
My condolences to the family and my gratitude for allowing him to share his time with me.
I have been honored and blessed to meet Dr Lau as my mentor. He recommended and referred me to join the same MSU graduate school where he studied.
He also introduced and referred me again to join Live365.com to kick start my career in the U.S.. I’m forever in debt for his guidance and referral
which were essential for my stay in this country.
TY is a great fighter for cancer and a life-long scholar! I was glad to see you two at the SF apartment and he’s full of life! With a heavy heart,
may God rest his soul in peace!
Dr. Lau will be greatly missed. He was the dean of UW’s Master’s Program in Communications, Digital Media and I was part of the first cohort of this
very successful program which was Dr. Lau’s vision. He saw my potential and always encouraged and believed in me. It was an honor when I graduated from
the program and saw Dr. Lau’s bright smile of congratulations.
Dr. Lau and I stayed in touch over the years and he would find time to meet with me to connect and encourage me to think about getting my PhD.
In August 2018, Dr. Lau wrote my letter of recommendation to Fielding Graduate University’s doctoral program in Media Psychology and I was accepted in October 2018.
We recently exchanged emails as I let Dr. Lau know how my first semester went and how happy I am in the program. He said he looked forward to my graduation and how proud of me he was.
I’m so sad that Dr. Lau won’t be there when I graduate with my PhD in a few years and he will always be with me in spirit.
Dr. Lau was a special human being and I’m lucky to have known him. He will never be forgotten.
Please accept my deepest condolences to TY's family. Attached... are a few photos of TY while we were in 1995~1996, a mission impossible project - Launching of a New Television IVM in Indonesia.
Departing Guest: Last Farewell to Lau Tuen-yu - James Tong - Westwood, May 30, 2019
Why are you leaving early
You are spoiling the fun
Dinner has yet to be served
The party has not begun
We are still waiting for some friends
What is your hurry to run?
What can't you stay a little longer
And wait till the dishes are done.
And now our table has an empty seat
that mirrors Ming Bao's column's blank sheet
The stirring pen no longer writes
The eloquent voice will not greet
You have passed the finishing line
But our race is still not complete
Let us see you to the door
Farewell, Tuen-yu, until we meet
記TY
1974年9月，我終於如願進入中大新聞及傳播學系。
最早熟絡的同學，就是TY，還有KM。因為我們三人都未能入住宿舍，時常一起坐火車返學放學，也因為主修科目又大致相同，很多時一起做group project，很自然的成了要好的朋友，有時我們會自稱為三劍俠。
TY心思細密，智慮致明，是我們三人中的智囊；KM目光遠大，有商業頭腦；而我則多做文字創作，結果我們畢業後都依各自的強項發展，當中成就最高的就是TY，我與KM都以是他的好朋友為榮。
畢業後雖然各奔前程，大家在不同領域發展，但友情不變，就是TY移民美國之後，也無阻我們的溝通。他知道我是夜貓子，常會夜深和我通電話，無所不談，往往一說就是兩三個小時。有時他為香港的傳媒寫文章，也會給我先睹為快，問我的意見，我因此有幸能進入他思想的深處，獲益良多，他在我心中是個堅持追求真理的學者。
TY不只是個學者，也是個堅強的鬥士。他身體出問題已是很多年以前的事，但他一直抱持樂觀的態度，兵來將擋，水來土掩，一次又一次的把病魔擊退。我不敢想像同樣事情發生在我的身上我會如何應對，但我肯定沒有他的勇敢和堅持。他永不言敗的精神讓我敬佩又動容。
TY是個好丈夫，好爸爸，好老師，好友伴，他沒有離開我們，他永遠活在我們的心裡，永遠永遠…
I am in deep sorrow to know the passing of Prof. TY Lau, even I had a bad feeling when having not receiving his emails for a long while. I am sure he is now in the heaven without pain. We will meet one day over the rainbow.
It is wonderful to refresh my memory of TY when I wrote this. He became alive when I reviewed my friendship relationship with him.
Thanks for reaching out and giving me this opportunity to honor Dr. Lau.
I met Dr. Lau one evening when I was working on my campus' IT department. He walked in a little late in the evening with some issues regarding
his new work computer. As I was working on the issue, we struck a conversation regarding the school, what he was hired to do, and his upcoming workshop.
When I finished, he thanked me and asked if I wanted to help run his workshop. For the next three months, I learned a lot from him. Being one of the first
mentors I have ever had, he taught me how to carry myself and approach problems in a way that I did not think I was capable of. Even when our time had come
to a conclusion, we still remained in contact. He would reach out to see how I was doing, send resources to aid in my search for a software engineering job,
and critiqued my resume. My favorite moments with Dr. Lau were when we would eat a meal together. We would sit down, as friends, and talk about our lives
and enjoy Dim Sum around the Inner Richmond of San Francisco. I will never forget his unwithering commitment to excellence and genuine care for the people
in his life. I am grateful to have met such a wonderful human being and hope to continue his legacy by exemplifying and sharing the values he taught me.
Here's a link to an article the school posted about the workshop we ran.
Zoom liked it so much, it was posted on the company's Twitter!
I've attached a picture of the late Doctor and I on our last night of the workshop.
I first met Professor Lau in the summer of 2004. As a visiting professor at Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, he was invited to give a talk
to the students there, to share his research and insights on how digital media is changing the world of communications. I was amazed by his talk, yet never imagined
I'd see him again next year, as an incoming student at the Master of Communications in Digital Media program at University of Washington, which Professor Lau founded
in 2000. I also didn't expect the learning curve to be so steep in the MCDM program that I would need to go to his office a few months later to discuss my intention of
quitting the program. Professor Lau, known for his incredible work ethic and determination, advised me to push through the challenges, and said "I'd encourage you to
quit if you feel the same way one year later". As I later learned, everything in life is temporary, the good, or the bad, nothing lasts forever. Thankfully I listened
to Professor Lau, and learned one of the most important lessons in my life - this too shall pass. For that, I'm forever indebted to Professor Lau's guidance and wisdom.
I had always been passionate about the media world. I would've never been able to achieve what I achieved, worked in a key department at one of the world's leading media
conglomerates in New York City, without the coaching and encouragement of Professor Lau. I'm eternally grateful.
The last time I saw Professor Lau was on April 9, 2019, 12 years after I had graduated and said goodbye to the beautiful city of Seattle. The city was still unbelievably
green, fresh and tranquil. Yet it was heartbreaking to see Professor Lau confined to his bed at home, unable to speak. Much to my surprise, his face and the calm, wise and
benevolent look were exactly the same as when I first met him almost 16 years ago. We communicated through writing. His eyes were full of light and his mind was as sharp as
ever. Professor Lau had overcome so many obstacles and adversities in his life. I believed he would win the fight with cancer as well. Sadly it was our last goodbye. I have
learned so many invaluable lessons from Professor Lau throughout the years, the last one was "a year older, a year wiser' as he wrote on paper that day. I will be sure to
follow his guidance to appreciate everyday as a unique opportunity to gain wisdom, and to live wisely.
Life is too fragile and unpredictable. I'm still deeply saddened by the loss of Professor Lau, an incredible mentor of mine. It was truly a privilege to be your student.
The loving memories and lessons I learned from you will live on, and you will forever be missed.
認真的益友學長：劉端裕
筆者第一次和劉端裕教授（大家都以TY稱呼）見面，已經是超過四十年前 ，而熟落交流，則是筆者移居美國這近二十年的事，和TY由相見到相認到相識而至於深交經過，筆者日後另再陳述，這裡焦點在概括個人對TY的一點鱗爪。。。
想起劉端裕，好像大部分都和＂玩＂有關。
從F4開始和他同班，記得我們在＂羅記＂放學後一起踢膠波足球，他踢得十分認真。
F6時大家己不再只是踢膠波了，因劉端裕在太子道的家較濶落，便在他家主辦＂party＂（小型舞會）。F6之後大家升讀不同的大學，我們便很少聯絡。
大學畢業後，偶然在無線電視中，看到他很專業的在報新聞。
幾年過後，劉端裕在史丹福深造，我第一次造訪灣區，承他熱情招待住在他宿舍，還介紹我認識了陳明銶教授。
多年後，劉端裕搬到西雅圖定居，我則移民到溫哥華，我們開始又有更多接觸. 他常來溫哥華享受美食，有些出名的酒樓，他甚至比我還熟悉。
劉端裕在新聞傳媒教育上桃李滿門，學生中不僅有香港小姐，還有人每星期從溫哥華開車到西雅圖聽他講學。他亦曾受邀到溫哥華的電視台接受專訪，足以證明他在學術界成就非凡。
他亦常常用電郵和大家分享他的文章，有些我還保存至今。現在重溫這些精釆的文章都勾起許多回憶！
雖然劉同學己離我們而去，相信他一貫認真硏究學問的態度、樂於分享自己所學的精神, 將長留在我們朋友和他的學生們心中。
T.Y. Lau was one of the most interesting characters I've had the opportunity to meet during my life. The word "raconteur" might be taking things
too far, but when we were both enrolled in the Mass Media Ph.D. program at Michigan State, we always referred to him as the "International Man of Mystery".
He was always working on something, whether business or academic, but we could not get the details from him.
T.Y. was a serious guy, but could always laugh and having a sense of humor is something to be prized. As an academic, he was driven to succeed.
I'd receive occasional calls from him over the years, always suggesting some project we could do together. One time, I was able to offer a data set on
radio listening by Asians in the U.S. The resulting paper won first place in the BEA multicultural division. Sadly, we didn't collaborate again, but it wasn't
from a lack of trying on his part.
While we came from very different backgrounds, with worldly T.Y. from Hong Kong against the fact that I didn't even have a passport back in the mid '80s when we
were students together, we shared something else, our birthday (August 19), which leads to a (hopefully) funny story.
In 1985, I suggested to T.Y. that we go out for our joint birthdays, explaining that bars in East Lansing would give you a free drink on your birthday, a real
plus for poor graduate students. Some number of hours later, we had performed an ethnographic analysis of perhaps 6 or 7 watering holes. The effects of our
joint research project were felt the next day, but we had a memorable time.
In 1986, the celebration eliminated the ethnographic portion and the attached picture shows the celebration.
I'll miss T.Y. He was a friend and someone that made life better.
