Is the Dalai Lama a freedom fighter or a separatist or both? Are Chris Patten's democratic reforms right for Hong Kong? Is Tiananmen Square old baggage or a tragedy to be remembered? With Hong Kong's return to China just round the corner, some local scholars are already facing the dilemma of choosing between academic objectivity and political correctness in answering these questions.
They must also consider whether to believe law professor Nihal Jayawickrama, who says he lost his job at Hong Kong University last year because he was seen to be politically incorrect.
'I think the university feels it might be better off without me,' Professor Jayawickrama said, 'because I'm not likely to become politically correct after July 1. I don't think I'll change my teaching techniques, and stop writing articles or communicating with the United Nations.' Professor Jayawickrama is chairman of Justice, the Hong Kong section of the Geneva-based human-rights group International Commission of Jurists. He has questioned China's human rights policies and challenged the legal status of the provisional legislature.
Hong Kong University rejected his application to extend his appointment beyond the retirement age of 60. He apparently did not meet the requirements either in teaching, research or administration.
'I know it's not true, they know it's not true,' said the professor, who had taught at HKU for 12 years, and who introduced a course in International Law of Human Rights.
'There must have been some other reason.' But not everyone is convinced he lost his job for political reasons.