President Joseph Sung plays down fears of a pro-establishment figure taking over ruling body
SHIRLEY ZHOU AND LAI YING-KIT
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 21 October, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 21 October, 2015, 12:01am
Union leader Wong Ching-fung confronts Joseph Sung (centre) and Lee Chien.Photo: Dickson Lee
Chinese University's governing council halted discussions on the appointment of a new chairman yesterday and invited a student to "unofficially" attend the meeting after protesters outside demanded wider representation.
It followed concerns of political interference at the University of Hong Kong after its council rejected the appointment of a liberal scholar to a key managerial position last month, and a protest by Lingnan University students on Monday against the appointment of two pro-establishment figures to its council.
Chinese University is the only publicly-funded institute of higher education whose council does not have student representation.
Its president, Professor Joseph Sung Jao-yiu, said a committee set up in June to nominate a chairman had not yet selected any candidates.
He said vice-chairman Lee Chien would serve as acting chairman after current chairman Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen's term ends on Friday.
He said there was no deadline for the appointment but the council hoped a new chairman could be appointed as soon as possible. Sung also promised that in the next meeting members would discuss including students in the council and scrapping the system whereby the chief executive is chancellor.
Student union president Wong Ching-fung, who was invited into the meeting, said he was disappointed that the council only asked him to voice his opinions unofficially.
"We the students are obviously not respected," he said. "We hope in the following meetings, we can be invited to join discussions related to the chairman's appointment and reform of the council's structure."
There have been rumours that a pro-establishment figure, Norman Leung Nai-pang, might be appointed council chairman, although Leung, executive chairman of TVB, has denied this.
Anthony Neoh, chief adviser to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is also said to be a candidate.
The council has 58 members and before the meeting students handed petition letters to around 20 of them. Leung, one of the members, took exception to being called a "Leung fan" - a reference to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying - by students.
"I'm absolutely not a Leung fan," he retorted, saying everyone at Chinese University should support academic freedom.
Responding to recent debate on the role of the chief executive in government-funded universities, particularly in the default role as chancellor, Leung Chun-ying stressed yesterday that Hong Kong's law gave him power to appoint council chairmen and members. He said the government's responsibilities included monitoring the performance of universities.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1870175/chinese-university-hong-kong-council-meeting
