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Exclusive | Hong Kong lawmaker Junius Ho was warned in 2017 of doctorate snub by Anglia Ruskin University despite claim he knew nothing
- Controversial politician says he was given no chance to explain before British institution withdrew his honorary degree while his assistant maintains Ho did not receive the rescindment letter dated October 28
- University document shows he was warned of the possibility two years ago
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Hong Kong lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu was warned two years ago by his British alma mater that he could be stripped of his honorary doctorate, and was personally informed on October 28 when it rescinded the award earlier this year, a university letter shows, contradicting claims he was blindsided by the decision.
In an interview with Chinese state media on October 30, Ho complained that Anglia Ruskin University had given him no warning or chance to respond before revoking his law doctorate, and claimed he had only learned of the move when it was reported in the media.
The university made the move after the pro-Beijing legislator was filmed shaking hands with white-clad men linked to an attack on train passengers at Yuen Long railway station in July, and after he directed a sexist and racist slur last month at pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching and her British-born husband.
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“I didn’t receive any complaint whatsoever from them in the first place,” Ho, a Legislative Council member for New Territories West, told CGTN. “Even up to now, I haven’t received any official reply or official decision.”
But a letter sent to Ho by the university, obtained exclusively by the South China Morning Post through a freedom of information request, indicates the lawyer-turned-politician was told of the decision on October 28, before media outlets published the news, and was first warned of the possibility as far back as November 2017.
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