'No' to Arthur Li as chairman: Hong Kong University alumni vote against CY Leung's top aide to lead council
Of the 4,454 votes cast, almost 98 per cent voted to oppose him
Thousands of University of Hong Kong alumni yesterday voted overwhelmingly against executive councillor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung becoming the university’s new council chairman.
The non-binding motion was one of five related to the rejection in September of liberal scholar Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun’s as pro-vice-chancellor.
Voting was at an extraordinary general meeting of the HKU Convocation, a statutory body made up of 162,000 graduates and staff. It was the second such meeting triggered by Chan’s rejection.
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Of the 4,454 votes cast, 4,356 – almost 98 per cent – voted for the motion opposing Li, a former education minister, to replace Dr Leong Che-hung as chairman of the council, the institution’s top governing body.There were just 25 votes against the motion and 10 abstentions.
Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, who is also convenor of the HKU Alumni Concern Group, said the result spoke for itself.
“If we didn’t come out to express our opinions, maybe Li would have already been appointed,” Ip said. “Maybe the council would have made more regrettable decisions.”
Ip said power was still vested with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, the school’s chancellor. Yet the lawmaker said he believed “any reasonable, rational chief executive wouldn’t still go ahead” with trying to elevate Li to the chairmanship.