Rival alumni groups in fight over whether jailed Occupy co-founder Benny Tai should be sacked from post at University of Hong Kong

29 alumni urge HKU to immediately launch a disciplinary inquiry against Tai for advocating civil disobedience ‘in the disguise of an academic’

In response, others launch petition urging university to defer any investigation until all court proceedings are completed

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Benny Tai has been jailed for 16 months on public nuisance offences. Photo: Robert Ng

Published: 7:15am, 1 May 2019Updated: 9:03am, 1 May 2019

A row over whether jailed Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting should be immediately dismissed from his teaching job has escalated with rival alumni groups issuing petitions to the University of Hong Kong.

Students, meanwhile, spoke highly of Tai’s contribution to democracy and the university’s law school, and also launched their own petition.

The HKU associate law professor, who was among four Occupy leaders jailed last week for public nuisance charges over the 2014 protests, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment.

In a petition to the university’s vice chancellor Zhang Xiang and governing council chairman Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, a group of 29 alumni asked HKU to immediately launch a disciplinary inquiry against Tai, 54, for advocating civil disobedience “in the disguise of an academic”.

Benny Tai (second right) was one of four Occupy leaders jailed. Photo: Sam Tsang

The group said: “A criminal for making unwise and morally corrupt advocacy, committing such misconduct, how could he be qualified to teach in HKU?”