CityU students say no to donation from ‘blood factory’

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CityU students stage a protest as businessman Yeung Kin-man (inset, right) and his wife donate HK$200 million to the university. Photos: Facebook, Ming Pao

 

Students of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) urged the school administration to reject a HK$200 million donation made by businessman Yeung Kin-man as they accused the entrepreneur of exploiting his workers, Ming Pao Daily reported on Wednesday.

 

The donation is the largest the university has ever received.

 

Yeung is the founder and chief executive of Biel Crystal Manufactory Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of glass covers and touchscreens for mobile phones.

 

The company’s factories on the mainland employ more than 100,000 workers. Its clients include Apple and Samsung Electronics.

 

The CityU student union staged a protest during the donation ceremony on Tuesday.

 

Cyrus Chu Kwok-chi, president of the student union, had tried to submit petition letters to Yeung and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who is the university chancellor.

 

However, Chu was blocked and carried away by security guards at the venue.

 

The union expressed shock at the way Chu was treated, saying that he had received an invitation letter to the ceremony.

 

Chu was sent to hospital after a confrontation with security guards who blocked him from entering the venue again.

 

But a spokesperson for the university denied that Chu was manhandled by security guards, noting that the student leader felt unwell because he had been shouting at the venue for more than an hour.

 

In 2013 the Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, a non-government organization that monitors misconduct in work places, accused Biel Crystal of forcing 11-hour shifts for seven days a week and giving workers only one day off each month.

 

It also said that at least five workers in the company have committed suicide since 2011.

 

The newspaper failed to reach Yeung for comments.

 

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BT/AC/CG

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