Legislators wanted to see an increase in the number of external members on the council and new procedures for the appointment of presidents.

Tuan was earlier embroiled in controversy in the wake of the 2019 anti-government protests and his university became the first to promise to condemn “any proven case” of police violence.

But King, a sociologist and a former vice-chancellor and president of CUHK, told the Post he regretted Tuan’s resignation and that no individual should be held responsible for a university’s response to a citywide protest.

Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Rocky Tuan quits, cites ‘opportune’ time

He did not give a direct answer when asked if Tuan’s departure would make it difficult to recruit a successor.

“I firmly believe that the [next] president should be given reasonable room to make decisions independently,” King said.

“In the recruitment exercise, the duties and responsibilities of a president – especially his or her working relations with the school council – must be clarified.”

King, in a rare interview with the media last year, said it would become a “world scandal” if Tuan left before his next term of office ended.

King was among several academic heavyweights who broke their silence on the recent surprise resignation.

One CUHK staff member expressed fears the 72-year-old’s departure would damage the morale of faculty heads and cause problems with the recruitment of top academics.

Uncertainty about the future of the prestigious institution surfaced after the embattled vice-chancellor handed in his resignation just a week into a new three-year term. Tuan said he had quit for personal reasons and that it was “an opportune moment” for the university to search for a new leader.

‘Lukewarm’, naive: insiders on Chinese University of Hong Kong head’s exit

Henry Wong Nai-ching, a former vice-president, said he was disheartened by Tuan’s resignation amid a “highly political” atmosphere, and that it was a result of the pro-establishment camp’s attacks.

“The whole incident was about the president not being respected and accused of mismanaging the university,” said Wong, now a chair professor at CUHK (Shenzhen) and also an emeritus professor of chemistry and research professor at the university’s Sha Tin campus in Hong Kong.

Wong added previous council chairmen had worked well with presidents, except John Chai Yat-chiu, the present one, who he said was “arrogant” and “micromanaged”.

He predicted that the university might not be able to find a new president as prominent as Tuan as top academics might be wary of Chai’s management style, despite an attractive salary package.

“As far as I know, almost everyone [in senior management] is so frustrated,” Wong added.

Wong said Tuan’s resignation might also lower the morale of senior management and faculty heads and he predicted more resignations might be on the way.

Veteran former council member Anthony Neoh added that Tuan served with “great distinction” over his six years in office. Neoh added that the university was able to earn a place in the top 50 universities in the world under his leadership.

He said Tuan had also worked hard to contribute to the university’s campus in Shenzhen and that he was well-liked and respected by colleagues.

Neoh, a barrister who sat on CUHK’s council from 1994 to 2022, said any replacement for Tuan would need the ability to command the respect of the entire academic community.

“In all the past cases, after the search committee has decided on a final candidate, they don’t actually recommend [them] to the council until they had actually brought this person to see all the deans and all the faculties, then [they would] make a report on whether he had the support of the academic community,” he added.

“It is only upon that report that the council would be comfortable in employing that person.”

Chinese University of Hong Kong fires vice-president caught up in reforms row

Tik Chi-yuen, a centrist legislator, said he was worried the saga would lead to a self-censorship effect and discourage academics from taking part in public discussions or criticism of the government out of fear of retaliation.

He added that would also affect the hiring of high calibre academics for other city universities if they thought their work might be subjected to political pressure.

The three lawmakers behind the controversial revamp of the council, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, Edward Lau Kwok-fan and Bill Tang Ka-piu, said Tuan’s departure and the earlier dismissal of his aide Eric Ng Shu-pui were not linked to the changes.

Ng, who signed a petition against the overhaul and was accused of sending out a meeting agenda without the chairman’s consent, was sacked last month with immediate effect after the bill’s passage through the legislature.

Tuan on Tuesday said he decided to quit because of changes to how the university was governed after the legislation to alter the structure of the council was passed.

Chinese University of Hong Kong names top surgeon as new head of medical school

“Regarding the council reform, it is a structural change – we are not targeting anyone in particular,” lawmaker Lau said. “We hope to improve the governance of the school.”

He added: “We do not agree that there was a battle in CUHK.

“No one wants to use CUHK as a battlefield. We are just pushing the university to move in the direction of good governance.”

Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin dismissed suggestions Tuan’s resignation was linked to the bill’s passage as the shake-up had been raised before, in 2009 and 2016.

“A CUHK council reshuffle was not [happening] in a short time,” she said during a trip to mainland China. “They wanted their governance to improve with time.”

Choi said the restructuring had been made with reference to best practice at other universities.