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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) hosted the seminar “From heaven to hell: doctors and comedy legend talk life and death” on 29 September 2025, featuring Dr Michael Hui Koon-man, Hong Kong comedy legend, film director, screenwriter and actor; and Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Dean of CU Medicine. Moderated by Professor Tony Mok Shu-kam, Associate Dean (Translation and Entrepreneurship) and Chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology at CU Medicine, the seminar on life and death education attracted over 300 medical and nursing students and teaching staff. The speakers shared their personal views on death, recalled their closest encounters with it and explored the meaning of life from both scientific and spiritual perspectives.

Death gives life meaning

Death is often considered a taboo in Chinese culture. Dr Hui opened with a humorous reference to the lyrics of the Chinese version of Games Gamblers Play (鬼馬雙星), joking that Chinese people rarely talk about death because food is life. Death is more about mindset than physicality from his point of view, he said: “When the beauty of life fades from view, death quietly begins its descent. I have always loved filmmaking but when my creativity plateaued for over a decade, it felt like a kind of death.” He added that he believes having something we love and are passionate about is key to enjoying the journey of life.

Professor Chiu said: “I believe that death gives life meaning. Knowing that life is finite motivates people to do what they love doing, and with their best effort.” He recalled his early days as a young doctor, when he witnessed the death of a little girl due to a medical emergency. That first experience of learning about death left him deeply shaken. Though he has become more capable of explaining death to his patients and their families after 30 years of practice, he said he never wants to lose his sense of empathy.

Dr Hui revealed that he had once cheated death, recalling a diving trip in Thailand where he came face to face with a shark that was more than three metres long. “At that moment, the faces of the people who were most important in my life unexpectedly popped into my mind,” he said.

Asked for his view about the worrying issue of suicides in Hong Kong, Dr Hui said: “Life is so pretty that we have to treasure every bit of it. We are but travellers passing through, with only a few fleeting decades beneath this sky. Be it sunshine or storm, each moment is part of the journey’s unfolding landscape. Life is short – enjoy every second, every minute, every day with the people you love, and that is the meaning of life.”

Empathy is the key to helping medical students understand life and death

CU Medicine places a firm emphasis on life and death education as a cornerstone of holistic medical training, with the aim of helping students to cultivate a deep respect for life, gain insight into the natural progression of ageing, illness and mortality, and develop the psychological resilience and empathy essential to compassionate care. Through this, the faculty strives to prepare them not only as clinicians but also as companions to patients and their families in life’s most vulnerable moments.

Professor Chiu said: “Empathy begins with the ability to see through the eyes of our patients and their families. As physicians, we often approach care from a clinical lens, but that alone cannot fully capture the emotional landscape our patients navigate. This is why we created this seminar – to engage with voices from all walks of life and enrich our students’ understanding of life and death through a multidimensional lens. Life and death are timeless subjects, and for healthcare professionals to support those facing mortality, they must first cultivate the capacity to feel, to listen and to understand.”

Professor Mok noted that a doctor’s personal experiences and example play a vital role in nurturing empathy among medical students. He said: “When I was studying medicine, a senior doctor once told me: ‘An unhappy doctor cannot make patients happy.’ That simple truth has stayed with me for 40 years. Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to be a joyful person, believing that my own happiness can positively influence my patients. These are lessons that cannot be taught in a classroom. Sometimes, a single sentence or a passing thought can shape a doctor’s entire approach to care. I hope every physician at CUHK will continue to inspire our students through their own lived experiences.”