Exclusive | University of Hong Kong council pushes back against head over bombshell claims, vows to handle matter ‘seriously and properly’
- Council chairwoman Priscilla Wong says governing body to take seriously misconduct allegations raised in string of anonymous emails sent to members
- Post learns HKU head Xiang Zhang named in emails’ claims, with council telling his lawyers representations could have been made in days after allegations emerged
Tensions between the top governing body of Hong Kong’s leading university and its president have shown no signs of easing as the council has pushed back against his complaint about calling meetings with little advance warning, while its chair has vowed to handle the matter “seriously and properly”.
Priscilla Wong Pui-sze, council chairwoman at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), told the Post on Wednesday that the body would follow due process in light of a string of anonymous emails that put HKU president and vice-chancellor Xiang Zhang at the centre of misconduct allegations.
Citing the university’s Chinese motto, she said: “We stand for ‘mingde’ and ‘gewu’. We will deal with it seriously and properly.”
The two phrases, taken from the Confucian literature, respectively mean “to manifest virtue” and “to investigate things”, according to the university’s website.
She declined to comment further, citing the council’s confidentiality rule.
Her remarks came after the council responded to a letter issued by a law firm representing Zhang, who asked to delay the meeting by four to six weeks to “enable representations to be made effectively by our client” in a letter seen by the Post.