Top HKU professor says Hong Kong is too polarised under 'one country, two systems'

A top microbiologist who is quitting his role on the University of Hong Kong's governing council said yesterday that the city had "failed to find a way out" of the clashes of values and political beliefs that have manifested under the guiding principle by which Beijing governs.

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, who is known worldwide for his role in discovering how the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus infected humans, made the remarks as he confirmed that he had tendered his resignation as a member of the HKU council. He said he quit because he felt powerless to resolve the controversy over the appointment of moderate democratic scholar Johannes Chan Man-mun to the post of pro-vice-chancellor.

Yuen said that for more than a century Hong Kong had "been very successful in amalgamating the seemingly contradictory values and cultures" of the people who live here. But in the past three years, it seemed the city had lost that ability.

He said that under Beijing's "one country, two systems" formula for Hong Kong, compromise had been difficult to achieve.

"After so many years under the 'one country, two systems' framework, we certainly failed to find a way out" of the seemingly intractable disagreements that plague the city's politics and society, Yuen said.

"One country, two systems" refers to Beijing's promise that the capitalist system in Hong Kong shall remain unchanged for at least 50 years from 1997, and the socialist system on the mainland will not be adopted in the city.

It also means Hong Kong shall be governed by its own people and enjoy a "high degree of autonomy".