The new vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Professor Lawrence J. Lau, said here Monday at a press conference that he would dedicate himself to building an international image of the university.

Professor Lawrence J. Lau took up the post of vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong on July 1, succeeding professor Ambrose Y.C. King who has retired, as the sixth vice-chancellor of the university.

"To internationalize the university, we planned to increase the percentage of international students from 4 percent to 8 percent and we hope we could have 30 percent of local students going abroad for exchange programs for at least one semester in foreseeable future," said Lau.

Hong Kong students are now facing a global competition and therefore it was important for them to open up a global vision, said Lau.

Lau said one of the big challenges of being the vice-chancellor of the university would be how to strive for resources.

"Besides depending on the Special Administrative Region Government, we will look for external resources such as research fund from overseas and (the Chinese) mainland," said Lau.

Professor Lawrence J. Lau is active in both academic and professional services. Before taking up the post of vice-chancellor of the university, he had served as the director of the Stanford Institute for Economy Policy Research of Stanford University in the United States, and an international adviser of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2004)