Hong Kong’s health minister has said the government will not lose out if the medical centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) repays its public loan early, rejecting calls for a penalty.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau’s comments came at a Legislative Council health services panel meeting on Friday, when CUHK Medical Centre CEO Chung Kin-lai also revealed that the hospital’s financial situation had improved.
Lo was responding to criticism from lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit, who argued that the hospital was taking advantage of the government and the legislature after previously seeking repayment extensions during difficult times.
“During the most difficult times, you came to the Legislative Council to request an extension, and we approved it,” Yang said.
“Now that you are making a profit, you say the government’s interest is too high and you look elsewhere for cheaper interest by 1 or 1.5 percentage points. You are taking advantage of the government and Legislative Council, aren’t you?”
The medical centre was granted a HK$4.033 billion (US$514.76 million) government loan in 2015, and repayment was deferred from 2023 to 2028 after the institution struggled during the Covid pandemic, according to Legco documents.
