Shenzhen’s billion-yuan offer to Chinese University of Hong Kong for new teaching hospital sparks fears of brain drain as Greater Bay Area battles begin
- CUHK confirms proposal but says it will not hit staffing levels in Hong Kong
- Move comes after national blueprint on development of cities in Pearl River Delta region was published on Monday
Shenzhen officials have offered to give Chinese University of Hong Kong billions of yuan to set up a medicine faculty and teaching hospital on the mainland, the Post has learned.
But the project, which is aligned with the national blueprint for the “Greater Bay Area” to foster cooperation among Hong Kong and 10 cities around the Pearl River Delta, has raised fears of a brain drain at a time when the city’s public health care system is struggling to cope.
The university confirmed the proposal, but said the campus in Shenzhen would recruit new staff for teaching and clinical services, and would not affect the operation of its existing medical faculty at its Sha Tin campus in Hong Kong.
CUHK, which ranked 49th in the latest QS World University Rankings, opened a facility in Shenzhen in 2014.
Located in the Longgang district of the city, the campus occupies 100 hectares and offers programmes from schools of management, science and engineering, and humanities and social science.