HKU law dean defends predecessor against criticism he's too political
Law school head says it's more important to be of service to Hong Kong than to gain global fame through research
The University of Hong Kong's current law dean came to the defence of his predecessor over criticism in pro-Beijing media about research quality under his leadership, saying it was more important to "contribute to the Hong Kong community" than to gain a place in the global spotlight.
Michael Hor Yew-meng, a criminal law expert who became dean in July, spoke up as Wen Wei Po continued to blast former dean Johannes Chan Man-mun - a pro-democracy scholar - and other professors vocal on politics, saying they lowered the school's standards.
"The faculty wishes to dispel the suggestion or implication made in some quarters that it is not doing well in terms of research," Hor said in a letter to staff and alumni on Friday, which he passed to the South China Morning Post yesterday.
Hor was referring to media reports on the results last week of the Research Assessment Exercise, overseen by the University Grants Committee, which found that only 9 per cent of HKU's research was worth four out of four possible stars while 15 per cent of Chinese University's gained the highest score.
Wen Wei Po was particularly harsh, running a three-page spread on the results and charging that "Chan spends all his time on politics and neglects research. He has buried many talents."
Hor responded that "the faculty was, and is, aware that serving its mission to contribute to the Hong Kong community … and the legal profession in particular might mean that it will sometimes be at the expense of doing more work with a global focus." But he said "it is a trade-off the faculty is proud to make".