TONY CHEUNG TONY.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 5:13pm
UPDATED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 6:31pm
University of Science and Technology political scientist Dixon Sing leads a petition expressing concerns that Hong Kong’s “academic freedom is under unprecedented threat”. Photo: Sam Tsang
About 300 academics have joined forces against a delay in the appointment of a key managerial post at the University of Hong Kong, saying they feel compelled to voice out because the city’s “academic freedom is under unprecedented threat”.
They share the worries of HKU teachers and students that the government is “interfering” with the university’s affairs, they say – and fear similar conflicts may emerge in their own institutions should they stay silent.
The joint petition, led by University of Science and Technology political scientist Dixon Sing Ming, was made public on the eve of a monthly meeting of HKU’s governing council tomorrow.
Sing said at least 297 academics had signed the petition calling for the council to decide on the appointment immediately.
“The storm at HKU is only a typical example showing that the freedom and independence of our tertiary institutions are under unprecedented threat,” the petition reads.
The council was responsible for postponing the appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor – for which former HKU law dean Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun was said to have been recommended – until a supervisory provost was named.
Its insistence on the deferment prompted a group of students to storm its meeting room on the main campus on Pok Fu Lam last month.
Council chairman Dr Leong Che-hung had explained the provost should have a say on the candidacy, but some councillors and students believed Beijing and the Hong Kong government did not want Chan to get the job.
Chan was criticised by pro-Beijing newspapers for his working relationship with Occupy Central co-founder and HKU legal scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting.
In the light of the students’ intrusion, the council meeting tomorrow night will be held at a new venue 3km away from the main campus amid a series of security measures.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1852149/300-hong-kong-academics-feel-obliged-speak-out
