| (July 19, 2004 – Hong
Kong) Following the signing of an agreement between the Cheung
Kong Group and the Australian Government in Australia on June
24, 2004 for the "Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship
Programme", an announcement was made in Hong Kong today
on the details concerning the portion of the programme that
involves student exchange between Hong Kong and Australia.
Officiating at the ceremony today were Mr Victor Li, Managing
Director and Deputy Chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd;
Mr H L Kam, Deputy Managing Director of Cheung Kong (Holdings)
Ltd; the Hon David O’Leary, the Consul General of Australia
in Hong Kong; and Professor Arthur Li, the Secretary for Education
and Manpower of the Hong Kong SAR.
The Cheung Kong Group and the Australian Government have
committed A$4.5million (approximately HK$25million) over three
years to provide education exchange opportunities to 420 Asian
and Australian students. The Programme places particular emphasis
on promoting exchange between Australia and Hong Kong &
Mainland China. At least 2/3 of the scholarships have been
earmarked for Australian students going to study in Hong Kong
or Mainland China as well as for students from Hong Kong or
Mainland China to study in Australia. It is estimated that
150 students will benefit from the Hong Kong/Australia exchange
programme over three years.
The "Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship Programme"
is the first public/private partnership education programme
in Australia. It involves matching funds from a business corporation
and that from the government. The aim of the Programme is
to promote educational and cultural exchange between Asia
and Australia. The Programme features two different categories
of scholarships, one for undergraduate students and another
for postgraduates. "The Australian Cheung Kong Student
Exchange Programme" is the undergraduate exchange programme
which provides awards for 50 Asian students (at least 2/3
from Hong Kong or Mainland China) and 50 Australian students
(at least 2/3 going to study in Hong Kong or Mainland China)
per year. The award is A$5,000 (approximately HK$28,000) per
student for one semester. The "Endeavour Australia Cheung
Kong Awards", on the other hand, is a programme that
will benefit 20 Asian scholars (at least 2/3 from Hong Kong
or Mainland China) and 20 Australian scholars (at least 2/3
going to study in Hong Kong or Mainland China) per year who
are undertaking postgraduate or postdoctoral research work.
The value of the scholarship is A$25,000 (or HK$138,000) per
student; and the duration is four to six months.
Speaking at the launch today, Mr H L Kam, Deputy Managing
Director of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd said, "The Cheung
Kong Group has substantial investments in Australia. On my
frequent business trips to Australia, I have noticed that
there is an increasing interest amongst students in Hong Kong
and Mainland China to study in Australia. Likewise, a growing
number of Australian students long for the opportunity to
study in Hong Kong and Mainland China. This Scholarship Programme
offers a timely platform for cultural and education exchange
between Asia and Australia, especially between Hong Kong and
Australia."
"There is an old proverb in Chinese that says 'Learning
has no Boundaries'. Knowledge and understanding are beyond
national and geographical boundaries, and the ‘Endeavour
Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship Programme' seeks to reflect
this spirit in a practical way," Mr Kam continued.
"Headquartered in Hong Kong, the Cheung Kong Group is
a multi-national corporation with business operations in 42
countries around the world. We fully appreciate the meaning
of ‘Learning has no Boundaries'. Through interaction
with our staff and business partners all over the world, we
are conscious of the fact that we have all come from different
cultural and social backgrounds, and that there is much that
we can learn from each other," Mr Kam commented.
"For young people who are pursuing their studies, opportunities
to study abroad will offer them cross-cultural experience
that can help expand their horizons, improve their language
abilities, and facilitate their character and career development."
Mr Kam added.
Mr Kam remarked, "We are very happy to have applied
the public/private partnership mode to a scholarship programme
and become the first business corporation to form a partnership
with the Australian government in launching an education programme.
Through the provision of matching funds from the Australian
government, more Hong Kong students will have the opportunity
to study in Australia, and at the same time, more students
from Australia will be able to gain cross cultural experience
in Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong is an international city, and our future
development relies to a great extent on our integration with
the outside world. The more we learn from the world around
us, the better prospects we will have in store. By the same
token, the more the world learns of us, the more we can benefit,"
stated Mr Kam.
Applications to the "Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong
Scholarship Programme" have now commenced. The organizers
of the Programme have liaised with the 38 eligible universities
in Australia and the eight universities in Hong Kong, including
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong
Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Institute of
Education, Lingnan University, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University
of Hong Kong. The universities in the territory have all shown
a keen response to the Programme and most have already established
ties with Australian universities. Students interested in
applying should contact their respective universities for
more information.
-End-
Cheung Kong Group
Headquartered in Hong Kong, the Cheung Kong Group is a multi-national
corporation with business operations in 42 countries around
the world with a staff force of over 180,000 employees. Cheung
Kong (Holdings) Ltd is the flagship of the Group. The Group's
subsidiaries including Hutchison Whampoa Limited, Cheung Kong
Infrastructure Holdings Limited, Hongkong Electric Holdings
Limited and CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc., operate
a diversified range of businesses in Australia including energy,
transportation and infrastructure, water treatment, human
health, bioremediation and telecommunications. The total investment
of the Cheung Kong Group in Australia amounts to approximately
HK$60 billion, with over 4,500 staff members in their employ
serving over 3.2 million customers. The acquisition of Lane
Cove Tunnel by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited
in early July 2004 was the latest investment of the Group
in Australia.
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