Sources say Patricia Chu sought a one-year term, rejecting a six-month contract
Patricia Chu Yeung Pak-yu ends her term as Equal Opportunities Commission chairwoman today, leaving the post unoccupied until the government appoints the fourth person to head the body in less than two years.
A government spokeswoman yesterday said Mrs Chu declined an offer of reappointment for personal reasons. But sources told the South China Morning Post her departure after 12 months was due to a breakdown in negotiations.
It is understood Mrs Chu was offered a six-month extension. She sought another one-year contract, which the government rejected.
Mrs Chu's departure comes at a time when the EOC is undergoing a number of reviews and investigations and morale at the anti-discrimination body remains low. An internal review was recently completed and results are expected to call for major structural changes, including the splitting of the chairman's post into two jobs - those of a chief executive officer and a figurehead chairman.
Christina Wong Wai-yin, spokeswoman for the Women's Coalition for Equal Opportunity, said she was surprised by the news as Mrs Chu had not indicated any intention to leave at a meeting last month, even when asked outright.
'She said, 'You had better ask [Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick] Ho Chi-ping about this',' Ms Wong said. 'It is not good for the term of chair to be too short because there is then no time to stabilise the mission, vision and image of the EOC.'