LAI YING-KIT
YINGKIT.LAI@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 12:33pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 2:59pm
HKU staff and students hold a silent march on campus. Photo: Reuters
Eighteen professional groups are joining students and academic staff at the University of Hong Kong in a rally this week to protest against the institution’s rejection of a liberal scholar for a key managerial position.
The groups – including lawyers, accountants, information technology workers, nurses and social workers – are co-organising a march on Friday evening at the Pok Fu Lam campus with students and alumni.
Organisers said the decision by the university’s governing council to reject Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun for the post of pro-vice-chancellor was politically motivated.
They also said the university was facing “unprecedented and naked political interference” in its affairs.
About 2,000 students and academic staff staged a silent march at HKU on Tuesday to defend institutional autonomy.
READ MORE: 2,000 HKU students and staff joined silent march to protest liberal scholar’s rejection
Kevin Yam (front) of the Progressive Lawyers Group wants professionals to join a rally at HKU on Friday. Photo: Felix Wong
Kevin Yam Kin-fung, convener of the Progressive Lawyers Group, said those who joined Friday’s rally would include both alunmi and non-alunmi. He said the appointment saga was not an internal affair just for the university.
Yam, speaking on a DBC talk show, said the saga began with pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po running a scoop attacking Chan’s academic qualifications and it set a bad example for the wider community.
“It is normal for a diverse city like Hong Kong to have different political views. But when it comes to daily work, we talk about finding a suitable person for a job – as long as he is competent. works hard and can do the job.”
“The incident shows that even if you are competent and hard-working, it is no use. It has undermined Hong Kong’s values,” Yam said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1864856/professionals-set-join-university-hong-kong
