Education chief hopes ‘everyone can learn a lesson’ after University of Hong Kong head Xiang Zhang cleared of misconduct allegations
- Education minister Christine Choi says ‘everyone can learn a lesson’ after University of Hong Kong council clears vice-chancellor Xiang Zhang of misconduct allegations
- Half-year investigation by council finds allegations made in emails unsubstantiated, as Zhang says his ‘name has been finally cleared’
Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin weighed in on the matter on Saturday after the governing council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said it had accepted a report submitted by a five-member panel that investigated a series of emails accusing Xiang Zhang of misconduct.
“I hope everyone can learn a lesson from this incident and let things go as the matter has already been settled,” Choi said. “We should all work together as we are not only facing local competition, we are facing competition from around the world, whether it’s in the development of talent or the strength of scientific research in higher education,” she said.
Last September, council members received anonymous emails accusing Zhang of inappropriate handling of donations from a mainland Chinese corporation, recruiting without bidding a headhunter from the United States to hire a pro-vice-chancellor in institutional advancement and a medical dean, and asking that the candidates have a US university background.
“On the evidence available to the panel, allegations made in the whistle-blower emails regarding misconduct by the vice-chancellor were not substantiated,” the council said late on Friday.
It said the panel investigated each of the matters and issues reported in the complaint emails in accordance with the university’s whistle-blowing policy.