University of Hong Kong approves vice-president appointments amid political affiliation row, backlash from students and staff
- Governing council votes in favour of mainland Chinese academics Max Shen Zuojun and Gong Peng taking up senior positions
- Thousands signed student union petition against the appointments, with Shen’s reported Communist Party membership proving controversial
The University of Hong Kong’s governing council on Tuesday endorsed the appointment of two Tsinghua professors for senior management roles despite strong opposition from students, staff and alumni.
The 23-strong council, which has a mostly external membership, voted in favour of mainland Chinese academics Max Shen Zuojun and Gong Peng taking up the respective vice-president posts of research and academic development, sources have told the Post.
Both of them gained 21 supporting votes, with one veto and one abstention by a student representative for Shen and Gong, respectively. The professors are expected to assume their new roles next January.
HKU’s student union and alumni concern group had raised questions over Shen’s political affiliations, after he was listed as a Communist Party member on Tsinghua’s website, although that reference was later removed after local media reported it.
The University of California, Berkeley, which has employed Shen since 2004, said on Tuesday that the professor had told them he was not a member of the Communist Party, adding staff were not asked as a matter of policy about any political affiliations they might have.
Critics also raised concerns over the two scholars holding positions at UC Berkeley, the same institution where HKU president Xiang Zhang served, before taking up his current role in 2018.
A source present at the meeting told the Post that Zhang, who voted in support of both the appointments, said the focus should be on candidates’ academic excellence. He also denied having connections with either Shen or Gong.