University of Hong Kong cuts ties with student union, hours after Carrie Lam expresses anger at motion backing man who stabbed police officer
- Institution issues strongly worded statement hours after chief executive says she is ‘ashamed’ of school
- Lam said she was ‘very angry’ about the resolution and urged further action be taken against student leaders who passed it
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has severed all ties with its controversial student union and vowed to investigate members who approved a resolution “appreciating the sacrifice” of a man who stabbed a police officer in the back before killing himself.
Sources told the Post the immediate impact of the union’s pariah status on campus would be its inability to take the lead in student activities as it used to when it was the official liaison between various undergraduate groups and the management.
Activity groups could also be banned from using the union building on campus, again rendering the disowned outfit irrelevant to fellow students who will have to liaise directly with the management.
More pressingly, the move would also leave undergraduate students without representatives in the university’s governing and administrative bodies.
The union is also sitting on cash reserves of up to HK$30 million (US$3.86 million), which could be frozen next, according to sources.
Sources said it remained uncertain whether the HKU ordinance and other rules would be changed in the future, as they currently stipulated that many administrative bodies, such as the governing council, senate and disciplinary committee, should include at least one representative from the student union council in their membership.
In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, HKU said: “The University of Hong Kong once again strongly condemns the serious misconduct of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union Council for blatantly whitewashing violence, challenging the moral bottom line of our society, and damaging the reputation and interests of the entire HKU community.
“The university hereby urges students to uphold rationality and proper values, focus on their studies and make contributions to society.”
The management would establish a dedicated team to coordinate and handle student affairs to ensure normal undergraduate activities were not affected, the statement said.
Hours earlier, at her weekly meeting with the media, the chief executive demanded HKU follow up on student leaders who had endorsed the controversial resolution last Wednesday.
I am very angry about this, and a bit ashamed of this university
Authorities had categorised the July 1 crime as a “lone wolf-style act of domestic terrorism” and strongly criticised those who expressed sympathy for the perpetrator.
The decision by HKU to sever ties with its student union follows a similar move by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in February over students’ political activism on campus.
In April, HKU took the initial step of distancing itself from the union, reasserting control over its facilities and cutting off access to financial services, after Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily slammed the student body’s criticism of the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Top HKU official backs national security probe into student union leaders
In Tuesday’s statement, a university spokesman said it no longer recognised the current role of the student union as an independent registered association on campus.
“[HKU] will solemnly conduct an investigation into the incident concerning the student council in accordance with university procedures and, based on the investigation outcome, take action against the students concerned,” the spokesman said.
The chief executive, who is also chancellor of HKU, said it was not enough that the student leaders had backed down.
“The council consisted of representatives from various student bodies in the university, and it passed a motion on such a cold-blooded incident … almost paying tribute to the [assailant], this was very infuriating,” she said.
“Whether as the chief executive, as chancellor of the university, or as an ordinary citizen, I am very angry about this, and a bit ashamed of this university, where a student council had done something like this.”
She also said the university’s actions should not stop law enforcement agencies from looking into whether any illegal act was involved.
“It is up to the university to decide what action to take,” she said. “If, to enforce the law, the police force believes that there is room for follow-up action, I agree that law enforcement agencies should follow through.”
As for the student union’s assets, a source said it was unclear in the past whether its building on campus was owned and managed by HKU or the body itself.
With the union now completely sidelined, the management would formally assume ownership, and security guards would have the right to stop any student activity in the building, another source said.
Since Sunday, student publication Undergrad reported that cleaners had started to remove the union’s posters and banners from various buildings and notice boards.
The source said the union held HK$10 million to HK$30 million in its bank account. The account was co-run by the university’s finance office, which followed the union’s instructions in debiting fees and depositing money for regular investments.
A third source explained that when using the money, the union was required to follow its official budget.
“It must get approval from a professor who acts as the union’s honorary treasurer. All its accounts must be disclosed in its annual report, and audited by the university,” he said.
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But with the union being sidelined, it remained unclear how the funds would be managed from now on.
Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, an adviser to the government in the Executive Council who also sits on the HKU Court, the university’s legislative and supervisory body, said the management should consider expelling the students involved.
“The university has been giving chances and warnings to those students who have crossed the line since the 2019 protests, but they did not treasure any of those opportunities and have even supported terrorism and violence,” he said.
“It’s like showing support to Nazis in Western countries, which no one will accept, and an apology can hardly save them.”
Civic Party chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said university management should steer students onto the right path or educate them if they had done something wrong, rather than allow them to become targets of a political struggle. He also noted HKU’s “efficiency” in announcing its decision so soon after Lam made her statement.
Pro-establishment lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, who also sits on the HKU Court, said it was necessary for the university to cut ties with the union.
“Student activities could be affected, but the union was responsible for this. The university has to handle the matter strictly when its reputation and interests are at stake,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Polytechnic University student union confirmed that starting from September, the management would stop collecting membership fees on its behalf.
The university management was upset that the union had issued a defiant statement last month over the arrest of one of its executive committee members.
