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HKU council controversy
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Student protesters hand Arthur Li a petition ahead of last night's council meeting. Photo: Dickson Lee

HKU alumni and staff to hold no-confidence vote on pro-Beijing member of university council

Alumni accuse former education minister Arthur Li of meddling in key appointment

The University of Hong Kong's statutory body of alumni and staff plans to hold a no-confidence vote on a Beijing-friendly member of the school's governing council amid turmoil surrounding the delayed appointment of a liberal scholar to a top administrative post.

University council member Arthur Li faces a no-confidence vote among HKU's convocation. Photo: Sam Tsang
Some 20 members of the statutory body, known as the HKU Convocation, earlier called for an extraordinary meeting this week, where they asked to table the vote of no confidence in Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, according to Andrew Fung Ho-keung, convenor of the convocation's university affairs subcommittee.

Li, an Executive Council member named by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to the HKU council, on Tuesday denied allegations that he had arranged for a middleman to dissuade law professor Johannes Chan Man-mun from accepting the pro-vice-chancellorship.

But Fung said they were not targeting just one incident.

"The alumni think Li's previous remarks are very inappropriate and challenge his role as an HKU council member," he said yesterday, referring to the former education minister who was nicknamed "the tsar" and "King Arthur" for his heavy-handed leadership style.

Fung said the alumni found the council's decision to postpone Chan's promotion strange and the reasons for it unconvincing. Its move placed the reputation of the school under great challenge, he added.

The special meeting would be held on September 1 at the earliest, he said.

Separately, the convocation's standing committee urged the council to follow appointment procedures and respect the HKU search committee's recommendation - understood to be Chan - on the pro-vice-chancellor post.

The vote may not spell an end to the political crisis rocking the university even if it is passed.

It is non-binding in nature and cannot reverse "systematic flaws" that alumni have demanded to fix - such as removing the chief executive as chancellor to minimise his interference in HKU and other publicly funded universities.

In 2000, HKU calmed a political storm over alleged government meddling in its opinion polling by setting up an independent inquiry panel, which eventually forced the resignation of vice-chancellor Professor Cheng Yiu-chung for interfering with academic freedom.

Fung admitted it would be tough to resolve the current crisis by setting up a similar panel as "there is actually nothing to investigate".

"The council indeed enjoys such powers to make the final decision [on appointments] and no procedural impropriety is involved," he said.

"It is just that the reasons [offered by the council] to delay the appointment are unconvincing and we suspect political interference is at play."

Fung, however, believed the no-confidence vote would still carry some impact on management, given the standing of the convocation, which was entitled to advise the council "on the rules for the time, place and procedure of its meetings and for the conduct for its bearers".

He said another item on the agenda of their special meeting was the idea of a working group to press for an overhaul of the system, in which the chief executive was by default the chancellor of all eight public universities and wielded great power in appointing members to their decision-making bodies.

Education-sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said he shared the same goals as the convocation.

"The recent saga would raise public concerns over the matter and would be helpful for society in forging a consensus," said Ip, who convenes the HKU alumni concern group.

He planned to seek a review of the chief executive's role in universities after the legislature ended its summer recess.

In closed-door talks with students on Tuesday night, HKU president and vice-chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson had revealed the University Grants Committee was evaluating the composition and duties of the governing bodies of all the public universities. The review is believed to be completed soon.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Councillor of HKU faces vote of no confidence
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