Mr Cheung On Tak Mr Cheung On Tak
Mr Cheung On Tak

Honorary University Fellow (2011)

Mr Cheung On Tak was born in Shantou in 1930; his ancestral home was in Gezhou Village, Shantou City of Guangdong. Mr Cheung was the Board Chairman of such companies as On Tak Metals and Plastics Manufactory, On Tak Enterprise Company Limited, and Man Po Investment Company Limited. He is now retired.

Growing up during the great upheavals of the civil war and the war against Japan, Mr Cheung endured an impoverished childhood like many of his age. In 1945, at the age of 15, Mr Cheung came to Hong Kong to work for his relatives. He founded his own metals and plastics business in 1959 with his hard-earned savings, and later established the On Tak Metals and Plastics Manufactory. Known for his integrity and diligence, and for keeping his word, Mr Cheung’s business grew by the day. In the late 1960s he became involved in the real estate business and began investing in industrial properties. As his business grew, he founded On Tak Enterprise Company Limited in the 1990s. Mr Cheung was an esteemed model of success among the “rags-to-riches” entrepreneurs in 20th Century Hong Kong.

Mr Cheung is a benevolent philanthropist with a passion for social service. As one of the leading figures of the local industry and commerce, Mr Cheung served in a number of industrial and trade organizations including as President and Chairman of The Chiu Chau Plastic Manufacturers Association Company Limited, Director of Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce, Honorary President of The Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service Centre, Chairman of Southern District Anti-drug Campaign and President of Hong Kong Cheung Shi Clansmen’s Association. He set up the Cheung On Tak Charity Foundation in 1992 to support the society and the needy through the development of education, religious and medical enterprises. The Foundation contributed generously to the education sector and has given substantial support to the teaching, research and development initiatives at numerous universities in Hong Kong.

Mr Cheung has been highly supportive of HKBU and donated generously to our School of Chinese Medicine to establish the Cheung On Tak International Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Medicine. Since 2011, the Award has been rewarding scientists and scholars who have made groundbreaking achievements in advancing the internationalization of Chinese medicine and in the field of Chinese medicine research, and has been played a critical role in promoting Chinese medicine internationally. Mr Cheung donations have also gone into establishing an endowment fund for institutional advancement, with aims to promote the quality of teaching and research in the University.

Mr Chairman, in view of Mr Cheung On Tak’s exceptional entrepreneurship, his commitment to charity and to education enterprises, and in further view of his unreserved support and dedication to the development of HKBU, it is my privilege to present him to you for the award of an Honorary University Fellowship.