Li Ka-shing is a founder of Shantou University and has pumped more than HK$10 billion into the institution since 1981. Photo: Thomas Yau
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3017056/son-hong-kongs-richest-man-li-ka-shing-will-stay-shantou Politics
Son of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing will stay on Shantou University council, his foundation says, amid fears billionaire’s family is being frozen out of institution he founded
- Sources confirm plan existed to oust Richard Li, leading his tycoon father to tell confidantes of his dismay at family being sidelined
- Li’s foundation now says its four members, including younger Li, will remain on council of mainland Chinese university
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing (right) at Shantou University’s 2018 graduation ceremony with his son Richard Li, who is to remain on the council despite apparent discussions to remove him. Photo: Reuters
The son of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing will remain on the governing body of the university his father helped found in mainland China, according to his foundation.
Its latest response came as Shantou University also issued a statement, claiming the Post’s reports published last Friday were false because Richard Li Tzar-kai was still a member of the council.
The report did not suggest he was no longer a member of the council but quoted reliable sources close to the family as saying the university was planning to remove him.
The two statements released on Tuesday came after the Post reported Li’s influence at the university he co-founded 38 years ago could be on the wane.
Li Ka-shing did not attend the university’s graduation ceremony for the first time in 18 years last Friday, amid the dispute over whether the younger Li would remain on the governing council. Richard Li, who had attended twice with his father since 2017, was also absent.
Sources familiar with the situation confirmed the university’s suggestion of the son’s departure had been discussed over the past few months and Li had told his close associates he was disheartened his family had been sidelined.
The university’s statement released on Tuesday night did not confirm whether there had been any such suggestion to remove the younger Li, other than to maintain he was still on the board.
The university also did not respond to the Post’s earlier inquiries before the release of its statement.
In an earlier response, a Li Ka Shing Foundation spokesman said they were not aware that Richard Li had been asked to leave the council.
But on Wednesday, the foundation said there were currently 24 members on the Shantou University Council, of whom four were representatives from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, namely Richard Li, Frieda Law, Amy Au and Katherine Lo.
“These four people will remain on the council,” the foundation’s spokesman said.
A family friend said even though the younger Li would remain, the family’s heart was not in it any more.
Of the 24 members, eight, including the chairman, are government or Communist Party officials, according to a council member list last updated on June 2018. The university president is Jiang Hong, a Communist Party secretary.
The Communist Party has tightened its ideological grip on university campuses – including Shantou University – in recent years and Li has been accused of pulling his investments from mainland China.
Students at the university on graduation day said there had been fewer overseas cultural exchanges in the past few years.
Shantou University released a statement insisting Richard Li remains a council member, but did not directly respond to questions about any plans to remove him. Photo: Weibo
A source said Li had also expressed concerns over the future of a strategic partnership between the institution and a leading technical university in Israel.
Li donated more than HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) to the university, jointly funding it along with the Ministry of Education and the Guangdong provincial government.