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Hong Kong protests
Hong KongEducation

Chinese University of Hong Kong president Rocky Tuan named one of world’s most influential academics by Times Higher Education

  • Tuan’s intervention in protests praised by British publication for ‘reaching out to students, calling for end to violence’
  • The CUHK president was tear-gassed as he tried to mediate between police and radicals during intense campus clashes

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Rocky Tuan tries to defuse tensions during the second day of protesters’ occupation of Chinese University’s campus, which ran from November 11 to 15. Photo: Sam Tsang
Chan Ho-him

Chinese University president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi has been listed along with Nobel and other top laureates as one of the world’s most influential academics in higher education.

Tuan was identified as one of the “people who mattered” this year in the tertiary sector by UK-based Times Higher Education magazine.

The biomedical scientist, who took the helm at Chinese University in January last year and was the only Asia-based academic to make the list, has found himself embroiled in controversy during anti-government protests in Hong Kong which have increasingly spilled onto campuses.
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Rocky Tuan is the only Asia-based academic to make it onto a list of the most important people in higher education. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Rocky Tuan is the only Asia-based academic to make it onto a list of the most important people in higher education. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Tuan became the first university head to promise to condemn “any proven case” of police violence following repeated requests from students in October, leading to a wave of criticism from pro-Beijing figures.

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He was also tear-gassed last month while mediating between police and protesters who had taken over the campus in Sha Tin during a five-day occupation.

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