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Opposition lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun meets the media outside the Legislative Council at Tamar on Monday. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong protests: Baptist University refuses to renew contract of lecturer convicted over role in demonstrations

  • The opposition lawmaker hits out at ‘political persecution’ and vows to appeal decision
  • Benny Tai will learn fate of his job at Hong Kong University when it reveals findings of similar inquiry on Tuesday

Hong Kong Baptist University has told outgoing opposition lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun it will not renew his lecturing contract after he was jailed over pro-democracy protests in 2014, a day before another leader of the demonstrations was set to learn the fate of his job at the University of Hong Kong.

Shiu described the decision to terminate his job with the department of social work as “political persecution”.

The personnel department sent him an email on Monday saying his contract would not be renewed when it expired on August 31, according to the lawmaker. No reason for the decision was given.

“Although I’m not too surprised, I can’t help feeling angry and disappointed,” Shiu said. “A publicly funded university has chosen to side with the authorities to suppress dissident views. It is flatly unfair … I was not given a chance to explain or ask why. Is this the procedural justice one should expect from a publicly funded university?”

He intended to lodge an appeal and sought to meet university president Roland Chin to demand an explanation.

Shiu was told to stop teaching in January but kept his role as researcher after the launch of disciplinary proceedings tied to his conviction last year for taking part in the Occupy protests. He was found guilty of incitement to commit public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance. He was released in October after serving about six months of an eight-month sentence and is appealing the conviction. Under the law, he is prohibited from running in any election for five years.

The university said it followed established policies and procedures in handling all contract matters. “Due to privacy reasons, the university cannot disclose any details about any specific case.”

In a similar review, legal scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting will learn whether he keeps his associate professor job at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on Tuesday. Tai was tried along with Shui, as well as seven others, and convicted on the same charges. He is out on bail pending his appeal.

The HKU governing council has been examining the findings of an investigation into whether there was cause to fire Tai.

Hong Kong University associate professor Benny Tai. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
In an open letter, the student union appealed to the council to exercise “impartiality in dealing with this highly controversial issue, and your contributions to the preservation of institutional autonomy”.
The university’s senate earlier decided that although Tai had committed misconduct, his actions did not amount to grounds for dismissal. But the final decision rests with the council, headed by Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, a member of the Hong Kong chief executive’s cabinet.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Lawmaker jailed for role in Occupy protests loses university lecturing job
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