Hong Kong independence not a realistic option, insists university head
HKU vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson issues statement on controversial issue on behalf of senior management
The city’s oldest university has become the first among tertiary institutions to make an official stand on the question of independence for Hong Kong, following the chief executive’s public rejection of the controversial idea.
University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson spelled it out in a prepared statement he read to the media on Friday at an inauguration ceremony for new students on the Pok Fu Lam campus.
“The senior management’s position on the debate about Hong Kong independence is that it is not a realistic option. More importantly, it would not be in the best interests of the university.”
Mathieson, HKU president since 2014, said the 105-year-old institution “is committed to the core principles of ‘one country, two systems, which include the protection of freedom of speech”.
He maintained that institutional autonomy and academic freedom were HKU’s cornerstones, and the campus “must be a place where different opinions can be debated and respected”.
“However freedoms come with responsibilities. There is no place in the university for hatred, offensive language and behaviour, or violence,” he said.