Presidents of government-funded universities step up calls for Chief Executive Carrie Lam to meet demands of extradition protesters
- Wei Shyy, head of the University of Science and Technology, calls on government to launch an independent inquiry
- And Stephen Cheung, the head of Education University, says city administration should declare complete withdrawal of extradition bill
Two university presidents have stepped up their calls for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to meet the demands of protesters so Hong Kong society can move beyond the escalating extradition crisis and start healing the city’s deep divisions.
In an open letter on Wednesday, Wei Shyy, head of the University of Science and Technology, called on the Lam administration to “demonstrate its courage and leadership to respond and act [to] continuing requests to launch an investigation”.
Shyy was the first leader of a local university to support protesters’ calls to set up an independent inquiry into the political fiasco created by the government’s now-shelved extradition bill. Various sectors of society, including civil servants, politicians, lawyers, former government officials and social workers, had also appealed for an investigation.
Shyy’s letter coincided with remarks on Wednesday by Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, the head of Education University, who revealed that he had written to Lam and urged her to declare “the complete withdrawal of the bill”, which was another demand of the protesters.
Shyy and Cheung, presidents of government-funded universities, spoke days after the president of Lingnan University, Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon, took the unusual step of attend a rally in Yuen Long rally on July 27 as an observer – a gesture seen as showing sympathy to the young protesters.
President Zhang Xiang of the University of Hong Kong has held open dialogue sessions with students and alumni in which he has appealed to officials and others to communicate as the first step towards ending the bill-triggered political crisis.
In his open letter to university staff, students and alumni, Shyy expressed concerns over what he called a polarised society with “growing intolerance to different viewpoints by means of verbal abuse or physical conflicts”.
Shyy wrote: “The disruptions on display over the past few weeks in many places, including Yuen Long, have made it more pressing than ever for the government to come up with feasible solutions. There have been continuing requests to launch an investigation that could address the concerns of both the general public and civil servants, including the police. Despite immense difficulty, the government needs to demonstrate its courage and leadership to respond and act.”
Even so, Shyy has turned down a request from his university’s student union to join the anti-government protest in Tseung Kwan O that is scheduled for Sunday. He said student leaders had not consulted him before they told others that he would go with them, adding “I don’t think this is a respectful and sincere way to extend an invitation”.
Education University’s Cheung, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, said he had written to Lam a few days ago to urge the government to take the lead in reconciling with protesters. He suggested that “the administration make its stance crystal clear by formally declaring the complete withdrawal of the bill in question”.
Cheung said: “The most important is for the government to formally withdraw the bill so as to create favourable conditions for sincere dialogues.”
He added that Hongkongers must “resolutely say no to violence”.
“The city is becoming more a dangerous place. It is no longer the Hong Kong we used to know,” said Cheung, as he struggled to hold back tears.
He proposed setting up “an open platform for different stakeholders to express their views and to work towards the common goal of narrowing the gaps and differences in the best interests of Hong Kong”.
Cheung said he had relayed a request from his university’s student union for an open dialogue with Lam. He had planned to meet students on Wednesday but the session was cancelled because of the arrival of Tropical Storm Wipha.
Professor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, president of Chinese University, was expected to meet students in a forum on Thursday. He earlier proposed setting up a widely represented platform to facilitate dialogue between the government and citizens from different age groups and backgrounds.
A similar proposal was also put forward in July by Professor Roland Chin Tai-hong, president of Baptist University.
