Announcement comes after appointment of controversial former education minister Arthur Li as council chairman
SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 4:33pm
UPDATED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 4:44pm
The students’ boycott committee announced the boycott would last until at least January 26, when the council is scheduled to meet. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Students at the University of Hong Kong have decided to boycott classes, starting from Wednesday, until the university’s governing council promises to review its structure, which has been criticised by many as inviting political interference.
The 15 members of the students’ boycott committee announced on Monday that the boycott would last until at least January 26, when the council is scheduled to meet and discuss university affairs.
The announcement came after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s much opposed appointment of the pro-establishment and strong-handed “King” Arthur Li Kwok-cheung as the council’s new chairman at the end of last year, and the council’s controversial decision in September to reject the promotion of a pro-democracy law professor to a key managerial post.
Committee members said the boycott would only end if the council promised to form a task force to review its structure.
They said the task force should look into their demands that the chief executive should not be the university’s chancellor by default, that at least half of the council members should be appointed from inside the university, and that the council members currently appointed by the chief executive should instead be appointed by the council.
“We have tried all other ways of communication with the council, such as submitting petition letters and speaking up during council meetings,” said Yvonne Leung Lai-kwok, one of the boycott committee members. “But they didn’t show any willingness to listen to us.”
Leung said the boycott decision was voted through in a meeting with at least 100 students attending.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1902318/hku-students-boycott-classes-until-university
