Real Hong Kong News
1st November 2016
Recently Hong Kong University’s Student Union started a petition (closed on 31/October with over 2,400 signatures by students and alumni) requesting the University’s Council to investigate the suspected bribery in the Postgraduate representative election to the Hong Kong University (HKU) Council, after a complaint against one of the candidates was rejected by the Council.
Zhu Ke, a candidate who stood at the election of a full-time Postgraduate Student to the HKU Council, was accused of giving out Red Packets to eligible voters in a WeChat group, and he subsequently won the election after the complaint being rejected.
The complaint was filed by Michael Mo Kwan-tai, also stood at the election. Mo received screenshots of Zhu Ke giving outRed Packets in a WeChat group named “New Hong Kong Youth” from multiple individuals, all appears to be sufficient evidence of Zhu’s alleged bribery action. The WeChat group is believed to be targeting HKU students from China. Mo’s complaint, however, was quickly rejected by the HKU Council which said that the RMB80 (USD) wroth Red Packet was “immaterial”.
Michael Mo filed complaint against Zhu
Zhu: it’s all due to “cultural difference”
When the complaint was rejected, some local HKU students expressed their disappointment in the Council’s decision by posting comments on the university’s Democracy Wall. Some exchange students from China, however, disagree with their views by replying to those comments saying that “Zhu only gave RMB80 to a group, not to each group member” and “giving out Red Packets is not bribery but a habit and purely for fun”.
In an interview published by The Initium, a new media allegedly backed by pro-China individuals, Zhu Ke rebuked all the accusations, and stressed that giving outRed Packets on WeChat group is a “habit and only for fun” and should not be regarded as bribery. He also said, “being a Mainland Chinese and the fact that this case involved money, I’d be condemned forever (in Hong Kong)”.
Zhu also commented that Hong Kong students overreact largely due to cultural difference as “giving out Red Packets is a common practice on WeChat which can spice up the atmosphere in a group”.
During the interview, Zhu also admitted that he is angry at Michael Mo for what he did (filing the complaint), and accused Mo of “taking things out of context” and “fabricating the event”, which all made him feel “a little disgusted”.
Zhu Ke, also hinted in the interview that he is the victim of this case, by saying that the whole situation has made him “sensitive” and “worried about going out”. He also said that he originally planned to study his PhD in Hong Kong but given what happened, he has now decided to further his education in the US. The Initium reporter asked him why he would give up Hong Kong permanent residency as he could have gained it should he spend three more years in Hong Kong, Zhu said, “once I get to the US, I can get a Green Card! Why would I want permanent residency in Hong Kong?”
In response to enquiry, ICAC said that there is no legal ground for the unit to investigate alleged corruption case in an election held in an academic institution.
Commented on the incident, Peter Mathieson, Vice-Chancellor of HKU, said that the incident was between students and does not affect the credibility of the university. He also said that he would respect the Council’s decision. Mo said that Mathieson’s comment was irresponsible given that Mathieson had a vote in the Council’s decision on the complaint against Zhu.
Zhu is successfully elected.
HKU’s Student Union’s statement about the case is available on its Facebook page.
(Source: Apple Daily, Headline Daily, The Initium and Stand News)
https://therealnewshk.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/corruption-spreads-into-the-university-of-hong-kong-bribery-suspect-plans-to-study-in-america/
