HKU sets September deadline for decision on appointment of controversial academic
The University of Hong Kong's governing council has set a September deadline to decide on whether to appoint liberal scholar Johannes Chan Man-mun to a key managerial post and end months of bitter dispute.
After a meeting held under tight security last night, the council said it was asking police to investigate allegations of "criminal" conduct during a radical protest at the last meeting when students and outsiders burst into the venue and some of them later stopped members from leaving the campus.
Council chairman Dr Leong Che-hung did not specify whether students or outsiders would be targeted.
The council also accepted a recommendation from senior management that none of the scholars involved in a row over donations related to Occupy Central should be fired, including its co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting and his former boss, Chan.
Pro-government council members had wanted to wait until the supervisory post of provost was filled first before confirming Chan's appointment, but critics saw it as a move to punish the scholar, who is known for his liberal views and friendship with Tai.
"We realise in the near future there is no possibility of naming the provost," said Leong.
The donation saga stems from an internal HKU inquiry into the acceptance and use of HK$1.45 million in donations by Tai, Chan and three other HKU employees over two years. Part of the money was used for Occupy-related projects.
The donations were revealed when Tai's email account and those of others were hacked and leaked to the media late last year.
That was seen as a political attack on Tai and Chan for their role in Occupy. Pro-Beijing newspapers ran a series of reports on the saga that continues now.
A senior management team headed by HKU vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson had suggested the council send a formal letter to Chan, who did not disclose the identity of a donor in time, to remind him of his duty to comply with donation guidelines.
After students stormed the council meeting last month, yesterday's session was held amid tight security, with the venue moved from the main campus to the one on Sassoon Road.
The building was fenced off and watched over by some 15 security guards and 20 police officers, but no students protested.
Instead, two alumni groups - one urging a speedy appointment and the other opposing interference - made their voices heard outside the venue.
