HKU Appoints Mainland Scholars To Top Posts

The University of Hong Kong's governing council on Tuesday appointed two mainland scholars as vice-presidents, dismissing allegations of cronyism and concerns from some students, teachers and alumni about the reported Communist Party links of one of the appointees.

In a statement, the university said Max Shen has been named vice-president of research, while fellow Tsinghua University academic Gong Peng will be HKU’s next vice-president of academic development. They are to begin five-year terms starting in January 2021.

Media reports have pointed out that Shen had until recently been listed as a member of the Communist Party committee at Tsinghua University’s Industrial Engineering Department.

However, the chairman of the HKU Council, Arthur Li, released a statement saying Professor Shen had confirmed that he is “he is not a CCP member nor a party committee member.”

“The issues of concern against the two professors have been satisfactorily clarified and that all allegations are found to be unsubstantiated”, Li concluded.

In a separate statement confirming the appointments, HKU Vice-Chancellor Xiang Zhang lauded the two academics, saying Professor Shen “will help to expand the research enterprise of HKU and to strategically grasp opportunities brought about by the entrepreneurial globe.”

“As VP Academic Development, Professor Gong will be in charge of the University’s strategies in recruiting and retaining a world-class and diverse faculty, facilitating a culture of academic excellence, and enabling faculty success at every stage of their career”, Xiang added.

Dozens of representatives from the HKU student union held a peaceful protest as the council met to approve the appointments early on Tuesday evening, insisting that the appointments should be postponed and the institute should give a full account of the political background of the candidates.

Union president Edy Jeh said if the reports are true, then Shen's appointment means the Communist Party would be taking charge of high-level decisions at HKU.

She said she is disappointed and angry about the decision, and called it the end of academic freedom and institutional autonomy at the university.

Jeh also said students would not accept the two scholars as vice-presidents, and will pursue legal means, such as judicial review, to try to overturn the decision.

“We believe that it is a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s action to take over the university... taking charge of academic development as well as research will affect the academic development of the whole university”, she said.

Ahead of the vote, 11 members of the university's court had issued a statement asking the council to postpone the vote and reconsider appointing Prof Shen.

It said his reported background would invite suspicions about “rule by party members”, and that this would threaten academic freedom and undermine the institution's ability to attract top teaching staff and students.

But council member Brian Stevenson pushed back, saying there’s no question that academic freedom at the university would be affected in any way.

“I can assure you… every member of that council is committed to academic freedom, absolutely. There’s no suggestion of no academic freedom,” he said.

Critics had also raised concerns that both appointees used to work at UC Berkeley in California – as Vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang also once did.

However, the university dismissed any suggestion of bias, saying "the recommendations for appointment are results of thorough global search and elaborate review and consultation processes, with the sole purpose of attracting the best talents to fill the leadership positions, irrespective of race, nationality, gender, place of origin, political orientation or religious belief.”

It said close to 200 candidates were identified for each position.

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