CUHK
News Centre

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) welcomes the release of the Audit Commission’s Value for Money Audit on campus facilities operated by external entities.

The University notes that Part 4.4 of the report states that the bookstore operator (currently operated by The Commercial Press) is not presently bound by any clause to comply with the National Security Law. All contracts have a clause to comply with the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This clause will be revised as soon as possible to specify the inclusion of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR (National Security Law).

While the University’s responses to each of the Audit Commission’s findings can be found in the report, CUHK would like to emphasise the following additional points regarding the reasons for limited competition for tender exercises for campus facilities:

(A) The sources of business and customer flows were limited (i.e., the University is relatively isolated geographically and its campus is subject to access control requirements, and customer flows fluctuate according to peak periods in the academic year)

(B) Facilities are subject to many additional campus-specific rules, regulations, policies and procedures

(C) Students need to access nutritious meals at affordable prices which can affect profitability

CUHK has commissioned an e-procurement system and will promote the use of digital submissions for all tenders including campus facilities.

CUHK thanks the Audit Commission for its work, and the University was pleased to cooperate with its field work, and we look forward to implementing the report’s findings.