Furious students plan protests in Hong Kong next week over meddling in governing councils' appointments
Lingnan University and Chinese University students are staging protests next week as their institutions' governing councils meet over controversies involving how the government is handling appointees to the influential bodies.
Lingnan University and Chinese University students are staging protests next week as their institutions' governing councils meet over controversies involving how the government is handling appointees to the influential bodies.
Concerns about political interference with academic freedom and institutional autonomy at local universities spread across the higher education community after the University of Hong Kong's council voted down pro-democracy Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun's candidacy for a key managerial post last month.
READ MORE: University of Hong Kong council's weak argument for not appointing Johannes Chan only fuelled the criticism
At Lingnan, students are angry about Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's recent appointment of two pro-establishment figures to their university council: former Law Society president Junius Ho Kwan-yiu and solicitor Maggie Chan Man-ki. Both were visible opponents of last year's pro-democracy Occupy movement.
The student union plans to confront the newcomers when Lingnan's council meets on Monday and ask them for their stance on academic freedom.
Union president Philip Lau Chun-lam said if their answers did not "align with staff and students' positions, we might take further action".
Both Ho and Chan denied having a political agenda against Lingnan's academic freedom.
READ MORE: Hong Kong student leaders: 'political rewards' spurred appointment of anti-Occupy lawyers and Beijing adviser to university's top body
At Chinese University, the student union and staff are worried about whether the chief executive will appoint a conservative figure to succeed council chairman Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, whose term expires next Friday.
The students plan to stage a protest before the council meets next Tuesday, demanding that council members state their positions on institutional autonomy. The university's council, unlike HKU's and Lingnan's, has no student representatives.
Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan, who was elected a member of the university's council yesterday, said she would push for consultation to let staff and students have representatives on the governing body.
In addition to Wong, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan and Elizabeth Quat were re-elected as Legco's representatives to Chinese University's council.
READ MORE: Did the University of Hong Kong council consider the 'bigger picture' when deciding Johannes Chan's fate?
The Legislative Council yesterday also re-elected five representatives to HKU's court, an advisory body for the institution. They included Abraham Razack, Paul Tse Wai-chun, Christopher Chung Shu-kun, James To Kun-sun and Ip Kin-yuen.
To and Ip said they sent the chief executive a letter expressing their concerns about "inappropriate appointments" that "further destabilise society".
"We noticed that not just HKU but students from other universities are planning protests to fight for academic freedom," To said.
A new high-profile appointment looms at HKU's governing body, when council chairman Leong Che-hung's term expires early next month.
