My Take | Pot meets kettle? Dirty tricks and interference at the University of Hong Kong

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Councillor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung at the University of Hong Kong meeting in July where dozens of students stormed into the conference room demanding the Council handle the appointment of a pro-Vice-Chancellor immediately. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 1:29am, 29 Oct 2015

Some people who have accused the chief executive of interfering in the internal affairs of the University of Hong Kong are the ones who would go to extraordinary lengths to discredit people who disagree with them. Among their dirty tricks are making unauthorised and possibly illegal recordings and leaking them to the media.

Protests, biased surveys, name-calling, the storming of official meetings and unlawful detention of persons are not enough.

The latest shenanigan involves someone inside the university council who leaked an audio clip to Commercial Radio. The clip concerned has council member and former education minister Arthur Li Kwok-cheung commenting on Johannes Chan Man-mun, the legal scholar at the centre of an appointment row, during a crucial council meeting.

Li described Johannes Chan was a "nice guy" but unqualified for HKU pro-vice-chancellor role and that the former law dean lacked a PhD. Photo: Sam Tsang

Unfortunately for Li's opponents, there was no smoking gun or incriminating remarks.

All Li said was that Chan was a "nice guy" but unqualified for the senior managerial position and that the former law dean lacked a PhD. A little later in the clip, he dismissed claims that the council had been under political pressure from the central government's liaison office or Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and suggested some political parties were "very keen to push" Chan as a candidate.

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | Pot meets kettle? Dirty tricks and interference at the University of Hong Kong

My Take | Pot meets kettle? Dirty tricks and interference at the University of Hong Kong