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HKU council controversy
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HKU staff and students hold a silent march on campus. Photo: Reuters

Lawyers, nurses, accountants, IT workers to join HKU students in protest over appointment row

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.

Lai Ying-kit

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 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.

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