Politics has always played a role in University of Hong Kong's complex 104-year history
Political considerations have been at play since founding of the University of Hong Kong in 1911, although there have been changes since handover
There are always two sides to every story.
So with the University of Hong Kong, which is at the centre of a storm over the delayed appointment of pro-democracy scholar Johannes Chan Man-mun to the post of pro-vice-chancellor. It raises not only the issue of institutional autonomy but also concerns over HKU's future as its campus becomes a political battlefield that may endanger its reputation.
Yet the university's history of over 100 years shows that politics has always played a role - from its founding in March 1911 up to the present day.
A key difference between the colonial administration and the SAR government is the former embraced the philosophy of "keeping your friends close but your enemies closer", while the latter is leaning towards a positive-intervention approach that could fan the flames of conflict, critics told the Post.
"So politics in HKU has always been a very complicated matter. It's not just black and white, there are many shades of grey," said Dr Peter Cunich, associate professor in the university's department of history.
"I think what most people don't realise is that there is this complexity. Most people only understand it in a simplistic way. But when you look at the history of the university, it is a whole range of complexity hidden beneath the surface."