Outdated HKU ordinance must change

Students at University of Hong Kong stage class boycott to demand change of university ordinance.

By Ip Kin-yuen –

The continued erosion of University of Hong Kong’s autonomy has prompted students to start boycotting classes last week to demand the establishment of a task force to review the HKU Ordinance, the abolition of the existing mechanism whereby the Chief Executive is automatically Chancellor and reform of the Council. As convenor of HKU Alumni Concern Group, I share their demands and highly appreciate their courage to fight a battle which verges on the impossible. I am sure their efforts will be rewarded eventually. What they are doing today builds a solid foundation for their success tomorrow.

In recent years, our hundred-year-old HKU seems to be showing signs of crumbling, as old trees may do. As an alumnus, seeing such signs fills me with grief and indignation. From the time when Wen Wei Po reported the candidacy of Professor Johannes Chan for a Pro-Vice-Chancellor post two years ago, we have witnessed a number of wrong decisions: repeated delays in filling the PVC post, rejection of the candidate recommended by the Search Committee, and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s appointment of Arthur Li as Council Chairman. All these wrong decisions reflect that HKU is right now in a political whirlpool in respect of its academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

Through various platforms and means, HKU’s alumni, teaching staff and students have expressed their determination to safeguard the university’s autonomy. For example, a motion to ask for the termination of the mechanism whereby the Chief Executive is automatically Chancellor or to relegate the Chancellor’s role to a ceremonial one was adopted with over 80% of the vote cast at the Convocation’s EGM held on 1 September last year. Furthermore, a motion to oppose the appointment of Arthur Li as Council Chairman was adopted with a resounding 98% of the vote cast at the Convocation’s EGM held on 29 November last year.

In a referendum organized by university Student Union last October, the motion that Arthur Li is not appropriate to take up any post in a university governance structure secured almost 4,800 votes, the support rate being 90%. Similarly, in a HKU on-campus survey last November, in which over 2,400 staff and students voted, the motion that Arthur Li was not suitable for appointment as HKU’s Council Chairman received over 95% of the vote.

Furthermore, in an opinion survey conducted by Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ union last October with 670 members of tertiary institutions concerning the Pro-Vice-Chancellor appointment and academic freedom in HKU, over 76% of the respondents considered that it was because of political reasons that HKU’s Council vetoed the appointment recommended by the Search Committee and 74% of the interviewees considered Arthur Li not suitable to be HKU’s Council Chairman.

Public opinion has, therefore, been very clear. However, Leung, in his capacity as HKU’s Chancellor, insisted on appointing Arthur Li – who is hostile to HKU and who has no respect for institutional autonomy – during his time as Secretary of Education and Manpower . This is flagrant defiance of strong opposition from the public. Therefore HKU Alumni Concern Group, Academic Staff Association of The University of Hong Kong and students unions of several universities organized a rally on 3 January to oppose the appointment and round 3,000 people took part in it.

One thing I must emphasize: recent developments reflect that what is at issue is not just an internal matter for HKU. Rather, it is a matter which concerns the autonomy of all universities in Hong Kong. It is a crisis involving the entirety of Hong Kong’s tertiary education and our society. What HKU’s teaching staff, students and alumni are calling for is not complete autonomy; what we are asking for is only reasonable institutional autonomy.

It is widely believed that the Chief Executive has taken a number of actions, such as vetting name lists of Honorary Doctorate Degree awardees, vetoing the appointment of Johannes Chan, appointing Arthur Li as Council Chairman, calling on the business sector not to make donations to universities and massively appointing supporters to Councils and Courts of various universities. All these actions reflect that Leung is, in his capacity as Chancellor, strengthening political control of the governing bodies of tertiary institutions so as to enhance government’s interference in universities.

To fundamentally eradicate such interference, we must reform the governance structure of universities. We must seek to revise university Ordinances so as to put an end to the outdated mechanism whereby the Chief Executive is automatically Chancellor.

Universities are a valuable asset of our society. Universities are palaces for the dissemination of knowledge and the nurturing of talents. Universities are important forts for the protection of Hong Kong’s core values. If our universities are conquered and lose their institutional autonomy and academic freedom, those who will suffer will be our next generation and this will be an unmitigated disaster for Hong Kong’s future.

We need to tell Leung that his perversity has made teaching staff, students and alumni of various universities even more united. We will be even more determined in our efforts to extend the issue of safeguarding institutional autonomy from our universities to a community-wide campaign with the participation of every citizen. Together, we will fight against all evil attempts to destroy institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Together, we will succeed!

Ip Kin-yuen is a Legislative Council member, representing the education functional constituency. This is an edited version of his Letter to Hong Kong at RTHK on January 24.

Photo: VOHK Picture

 

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