Li cures bad publicity with quiet naming of medical facility
Tycoon Li Ka-shing seems to have become terribly camera shy. Following the furore over naming University of Hong Kong's medical faculty after him, his charity foundation doesn't seem to bother publicising his zillion-dollar donations anymore.
The Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences quietly opened at Chinese University recently with little fanfare following a HK$100 million gift. There was no invitation to the media and few reporters in sight.
Instead, Mr Li (right, with son Victor) attended the low-key ceremony with medical bosses like Hospital Authority boss Shane Solomon and Chinese University dean of medicine Fok Tai-fai.
Just as well, because this time round Mr Li and the university have avoided a repeat of the HKU debacle, even though the new institute bears the full weight of his name.
'What's the point of inviting you people [reporters],' a medical professor told a Post colleague. 'You never celebrate a happy occasion. Instead you ask embarrassing questions and ruin it for everyone.
'You'd probably still ask him about oil fish even if it's old news,' he said, referring to the mislabelling of oil fish as the more expensive cod at ParknShop outlets early this year.. Not quite - my colleague was planning to ask Mr Li if he expected similar protests at Chinese University for naming the new institute in his honour.
