April 2008
Dr Cheng Yu-Tung, Chairman of New World Development Company Limited, was honoured at a ceremony on March 19, 2008 at which he symbolically handed over a cheque pledging a donation of HK$400 million to HKU. The gift will support HKU’s campus development and the academic development of the Faculty of Law.
Also present were Dr Victor Fung, Chairman of Council, HKU; Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor of HKU; and Professor Johannes Chan, Dean of Law, HKU.
Dr Victor Fung expressed gratitude to Dr Cheng for his generous support of the University. “We believe that this major donation of HK$400 million by Dr Cheng is a great investment in the tertiary education of Hong Kong. Most importantly, it is also the utmost encouragement to each member of the University.
Dr Cheng said, “The relationship between me and HKU dates back to 1997, the time when I began supporting the Faculty of Medicine in the form of student scholarship. Since then many Mainland medical professionals have been trained. When I first knew that the University had embarked on building the Centennial Campus to meet its strategic development plans, I wanted to make my contribution to HKU so that the new campus could be built as scheduled. As all of us know, the Faculty of Law of HKU was established 39 years ago and has fostered many outstanding lawyers. I hope my donation can not only be beneficial for the future development of the Faculty of Law in nurturing local talents, but also contribute to the Rule of Law of our Country and to its prosperity”.
Professor Johannes Chan thanked Dr Cheng for his kind support of the Faculty of Law, pointing out that this gift is particularly constructive to the future five-year development plan of the Faculty.
The donation will also support other projects including: recruiting the best world-class scholars as teachers; setting up scholarships to attract outstanding local and overseas students to study at HKU; facilitating the research on and training in arbitration and dispute resolution so as to meet the goal of the HKSAR Government for positioning Hong Kong as an arbitration hub in Asia; and introducing a “Legal Clinic ” so students may equip themselves with hands-on experience by learning from experienced tutors-these students, in turn, can provide partial legal services to the needy.
In recognition of Dr Cheng’s generous gift, the University will name the building where the Faculty of Law will be located after the completion of the Centennial Campus the “Cheng Yu-Tung Building”.