The outcry comes after the university council decided last month to name the faculty after billionaire tycoon Li Ka-shing, following his pledge to donate HK$1 billion.

The medical students claim Li's contribution will affect the institution's autonomy.

The university has responded to their concerns by posting answers to their frequently asked questions on its Web site. It says that naming a facility after a donor carries no material benefits for the donor.

But the students say they are concerned other donors may be put off because the faculty has already been named after a benefactor.

``We don't want to have a name change based on the amount of money donated. To us, it is just a sale,'' said Tse Hung-hing, a HKU medical graduate.

``It's like saying you can't call the territory Hong Kong anymore but have to call it Li Ka-shing,'' said Tse's colleague, Wong Kwok-tim.

Tse and Wong are two of five graduate students from Hong Kong University's faculty of medicine who are encouraging other protesters to join them Friday and send letters to Li, expressing their discontent with the university's decision.

They are expecting 800 other medical students dressed in white coats to take part.

The ``one doctor, one letter'' campaign launched Monday is a message to Li that his money is not welcome at the cost of the medical faculty's name.

The letter has been posted on the Internet and anyone who wants to voice his or her disagreement can print it out and mail it to Li. The aim is to prompt Li to take back his donation or turn down the university's invitation to name the faculty after him.

``[The renaming] is not okay. The name belongs to the people of Hong Kong ... and though donations are good for the university, a renaming does nothing and is inappropriate,'' Wong said.

Li, chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, and the university are aware of the negative sentiments expressed within the faculty of medicine. A new Web link added to the faculty's Web site addresses the name-change concerns.

``Our response is that Mr Li will continue to support Hong Kong University,'' said Jeremy Lau, senior manager of corporate communications at Hutchison Whampoa.

In a June 20 letter addressed to ``Vice-Chancellor Tsui and Friends at HKU,'' Li writes: ``Those who do not know me might mistake my support to Hong Kong University as an act of vanity ... I have indeed asked myself, if I have declined to have my name associated with over 80 percent of the projects over the past three decades, why then am I not opposed to this naming? The answer in my heart is simple: Hong Kong is the place I call home.

``The university's faculty of medicine shares the same mission and dedication to the pursuit of excellence that I do.''

In the past, Li has donated to medical schools in Canada and the United States. Earlier this month, after donating US$40 million (HK$312 million) through the Li Ka Shing Foundation to support innovative research at the University of California Berkeley, the center was named Li Ka-shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.

``Not everything in America is suitable for Hong Kong culture,'' argued Wong. ``The culture in Hong Kong is completely different.''

Two years ago, HKU students marched on July 1 to urge the government to investigate the SARS outbreak, which killed 299 and infected 1,755.

``The power of the people has been shown to be invincible previously, and we hope it will shine again this year,'' Tse said.