Why is it so tough to be a Hong Kong university president? The politics of the city will trap them, analysts warn

Rocky Tuan from Chinese University this week joined a list of university heads or other top management who ended their contracts early

Analysts and academics say it’s ‘inevitable’ for university chiefs to become embroiled in politics in Hong Kong and point to lack of trust between authorities and institutions

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Security guards cordon off an area for reporters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong after news broke this week that Rocky Tuan was quitting as president. Photo: Eugene Lee

Published: 10:00am, 13 Jan 2024Updated: 4:08pm, 13 Jan 2024

This week’s resignation of Rocky Tuan Sung-chi from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is seeding a view that the top job in Hong Kong’s highly regarded universities has become a poisoned chalice.

Most university presidents in recent years had faced a range of political controversies during their tenure. While Tuan’s exit as university president is not the first over the past few years, analysts said each case was different and was more a reflection of the city’s charged political environment and the radically changed demands of the job.

A university chief needed more than academic excellence, they said, and ought to possess astute political acumen to navigate the turmoil to ease conflict and tensions.

Pressure on Rocky Tuan mounted when the legislature passed a bill to reform its governing council. Photo: Handout

Just three days after the 72-year-old biomedical scholar announced his departure, Polytechnic University on Friday confirmed its vice-president of campus development and facilities Simon Wong Yuk-sun resigned and would leave in June without citing reasons.

Tuan’s stepping down was not entirely a surprise for some as he had been a target for the pro-Beijing camp during the 2019 anti-government protests when he was accused of sympathising with student protesters.

Pressure on him mounted as the legislature passed a controversial bill last November to reform the university’s governing council, just months before he was starting his third term as vice-chancellor.

“It is never easy to hire a university head no matter now or before,” said Cheng Kai-ming, emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a former pro-vice-chancellor of the university.