Lawmaker claims government and liaison office both have people lobbying council members
JOYCE NGjoyce.ng@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 29 August, 2015, 3:05am
UPDATED : Saturday, 29 August, 2015, 3:05am
Liberal Party lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun. Photo: Dickson Lee
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong have both interfered in the appointment of a liberal scholar to a key managerial post at the city's top university, pro-business lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun says.
Tien, the honorary chairman of the Liberal Party who is regarded as the "naughty boy" in the pro-Beijing camp, is the second high-profile figure to make such a claim after Kevin Lau Chun-to, former chief editor of Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao.
Tien spoke about the delayed appointment of Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, who has been recommended for the job of HKU pro-vice-chancellor, after attending a radio programme yesterday.
The council has voted twice since June to defer discussing his appointment, with pro-government members saying they wanted to wait for the supervising role of provost to be filled first. Pan-democrats dismiss the excuse as ridiculous.
Tien said he knew many members of the council.
"On waiting for the provost, my understanding is the government and the liaison office both have people lobbying the HKU council members," Tien said. "They suggested waiting and not making a decision" on Chan's appointment.
"This is not 'appropriately proactive'. This is excessively unnecessary," he said, referring to Leung's governance approach.
Leung has denied the allegations of interference and vowed to adopt an "appropriately proactive" policy as opposed to the positive non-intervention adopted in previous administrations. He recently engaged in a debate with Tien's colleague and Liberal Party chairman Felix Chung Kwok-pan.
Tien said HKU had been left to decide on recruitment matters with autonomy - until last year's Occupy protests. Chan, former HKU law dean, has a close relationship with Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a co-founder of Occupy Central. He wrote a foreword for Tai's book on the movement.
Tien's comment came after Sing Tao quoted a "source close to the government" as saying the council would "definitely vote down" Chan's appointment in the coming meeting.
Six out of 24 members of the council are appointed by the government. Of them, Arthur Li Kwok-cheung and Leonie Ki Man-fung were appointed by Leung and the other four by the previous administration.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1853543/pro-business-politician-james-tien-accuses-chief-executive
