But some university council members argued at the meeting that it was Cheung’s initiative and the campus body had never discussed it or given the go-ahead.

The money was spent on fees and expenses incurred to fulfil requirements and formalities for putting forward a private bill to amend the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance.

Cheung had said the lion’s share of the costs went on “gazette fees”, it was understood.

One council member who attended the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity because of confidentiality rules said: “[Cheung] wanted Chinese University to settle the payment.

“I was given the impression that he thought he had done [the bill] for Chinese University. But why should the university foot the bill for a lawmaker who initiated a private bill on the restructuring of the university council on his own?”

The member also said Cheung had pushed the amendment bill privately and no “prior approval or consent” was obtained from the university.

“It is a private member’s bill. You instructed a lawyer to draft the amendments to the ordinance and statutes [of the university]. It is common sense that you should be responsible for the costs,” the member said

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It was understood the discussion was eventually adjourned without a decision made.

Cheung on Sunday said he had no comment.

But Bill Tang Ka-piu, one of three lawmakers who initiated the bill, said they only hoped the university would settle the gazette fees, not the legal costs.

“As such, it is not that Cheung, or we, are asking the university to pay us back the money. Our view is that it is the responsibility of the university to settle the payment,” he said. “The amendments are especially devised for the university. It is very reasonable that the university should pay for the costs.”

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Tang pointed to private bills on Lingnan University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and noted costs incurred were covered by the institutions.

A university spokeswoman said it had no comment, adding that council meeting discussions were conducted in accordance with the principle of confidentiality.

“The government processes such applications in accordance with the legal requirements and applicable procedures,” he added.

The private bill to amend the Chinese University ordinance was initiated by three lawmakers on the council, with the third being Edward Lau Kwok-fan.

The trio are seeking to reduce the number of council members from 55 to 34 while drastically increasing the proportion of external representatives so they will dominate the body by a ratio of 2:1 to internal ones.

The bill also seeks to raise the threshold for the council to appoint the university’s president to three-quarters of the council votes and increase the number of members chosen by Hong Kong’s leader.

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Under Article 74 of the Basic Law – the city’s mini constitution – lawmakers may introduce bills into Legco. But such bills cannot be related to “public expenditure or political structure or the operation of the government”, and the written consent of the chief executive is needed before bills relating to government policies are introduced.

Two private bills to introduce technical updates to the Lingnan University Ordinance and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ordinance are being proposed respectively by lawmakers Professor Lau Chi-pang and Rock Chen Chung-nin.

Lau, also associate vice-president of Lingnan University, declined to discuss the total costs incurred for the private bill but said: “The university will cover the full costs, not me. My role as lawmaker is to help the university introduce the bill to Legco. It just so happens I am a member of the university’s senior management.”