| Type | Non-profit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public policy |
| Founded | March 2006 |
| Headquarters | Admiralty, Hong Kong |
| Services | Research |
| Website | bauhinia.org |
The Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre (Chinese: 智經研究中心) is a privately funded public policy think tank in Hong Kong. According to the organisation, its mission is "to promote the understanding of the 'one country, two systems' arrangements in Hong Kong and other socioeconomic policies in Hong Kong, for public benefit."[1]
The Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre has emerged as one of the leading advocates of policy to the administration of Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Of eight undersecretaries and nine political assistants appointed in May 2008 as part of the Tsang administration's plan to "groom political talents," seven were identified by governance activist David Webb as having close ties with the Bauhinia Foundation.[2] The current Hong Kong government's Undersecretary for Home Affairs, Florence Hui Hiu Fai, was Head of Business Planning and Development for Northeast Asia at Standard Chartered, where The Bauhinia Foundation's chairman Norman Chan worked as Vice Chairman for Asia before returning to the Hong Kong public sector. She also served on the Bauhinia Foundation's Health Care Study Group. The Political Assistant to the Secretary for Home Affairs, Ms Zandra Mok Yee Tuen, was a senior manager of the Bauhinia Foundation. Administration policy posts or the government's many panels and commissions are often filled with Bauhinia Foundation affiliated persons.
The Foundation's funding is opaque as they do not reveal the identities of its supporting trust's donors. As such it is a matter of controversy if they are eligible for tax exempt status.[2]