#Academia #University
HK Government Covid-19 adviser will leave University of Hong Kong after failing to get a contract renewal : sources

The 65-year-old professor, Keiji Fukuda, is one of the experts advising the SAR government on Covid-19 and a former top figure at the World Health Organization. He has frequently discussed the city’s pandemic situation in global media appearances.

Local media reported that Fukuda's contract renewal application passed the university's academic review, but was rejected by the president and vice-chancellor, Zhang Xiang, for not fulfilling the requirement of having a top academic achievement. HKU spokesman declined commenting on the case, citing personal privacy issues.

A fellow adviser and Chinese University respiratory medicine expert, David Hui Shu-cheong said, “it will be Hong Kong's loss when government epidemic adviser Keiji Fukuda leaves.”

Source: RTHK; The Standard; #Oct8
#PoliticalOppression #Pandemic #HKU #KeijiFukuda

#PoliticalOppression
#HKU Student union: Appointment of Chinese Academics as University's Pro-vice-president is a “Black-box Operation”

Along with several pto-democracy lawmakers, President of the Hong Kong University Students' Union, Yip Zi-lam held a press conference on October 26, 2020.

Yip comdemned the appointment of the university’s pro-vice-presidents as a “black-box operation” which lacked transparency to the stakeholders.

Yip pointed out that both candidates were closely connected to China and the arrangement is detrimental to the University’s autonomy.

In fact, one of the candidates is reportedly a Chinese Communist Party member:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26187

The Students' Union called for a petition. As at 8pm on October 26, 2,100 signatures were collected from the University’s staff members, students and alumni.

Source: Stand News #Oct26

#Collusion #University #Academia

#FailedState #Education
"National Security Law Guru" Becomes Dean of Law Faculty at Hong Kong’s oldest University

In late evening of October 27, the university Council of HKU approved appointment of the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Law Fu Hualing, to be the faculty’s dean.

It was reportedly that Fu took part in a dean-elect forum and met with students last week. The Chairman of Law Association, Oscar Wong refused to confirm the appointment, citing confidentiality as a reason. He only said that Fu listened to students’ needs and was willing to discuss with students about setting up a Lennon Wall on the ground floor of the Faculty of Law during his term as the Acting Dean.

Fu Hualing comes from mainland China and is specialised in human rights law.

He has been teaching at the University of Hong Kong for over 20 years. When the National Security Law (#NSL) for Hong Kong was implemented on 1 July 2020, Fu received several press interviews making him gained the nickname, “NSL guru”.

Fu graduated from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in 1983 and continued his studies in Canada. In 1993, he obtained a Doctor of Laws degree at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. He took office as Acting Dean of HKU’s Faculty of Law in 2019.

Source: Apple Daily
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20201023/26H6EGUQ5RCMBOUNPAYHRA23HE/

#University #Academia

===
Also see

New #HKU Pro-Vice-Chancellor Candidate is Reportedly a Chinese Communist Party Member, Lawmaker Challenges Hiring of Mainland Chinese Scholars a Practice of Cronyism
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26187

#Censorship #University #Academia
Now TV News Segment Removed Because News Chief “Personally Thinks it was Inappropriate”

Source: Stand News #Oct26

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#Censorship #University #Academia
Now TV News Segment Removed Because News Chief “Personally Thinks it was Inappropriate”

A Now TV news segment was ordered to be removed by News Chief Bill Chan, claiming that he “personally thinks it was inappropriate”. The now-removed clip showed Ip Kin-yuen, a legislative councilor of the education sector expressing concerns about Max Shen, allegedly a Communist Party member, being nominated to be the vice-chancellor at the University of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) issued a statement saying that the removal of news segments is rare, and it is concerning whether the NowTV is self-censoring since the news report touched upon the topic of Max Shen’s status as a Communist Party member.

HKJA urged NowTV Chan to further explain and clarify his measures on handling this news segment in order to allay any public concern.

Source: Stand News #Oct26

===
Also see

New #HKU Pro-Vice-Chancellor Candidate is Reportedly a Chinese Communist Party Member, Lawmaker Challenges Hiring of Mainland Chinese Scholars a Practice of Cronyism
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/26187

#Cronyism #FailedState #SpecialTreatment
Vice-president Newly appointed to City University is the founder of Government's "appointed" COVID-19 testing lab

The City University of Hong Kong (#CityU) appointed Michael Yang Meng-su, the chair professor of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, as the University’s new vice-president.

Yang, however, was identified as one of the founding members of #Prenetics, one of the Government’s "appointed" COVID-19 testing laboratory without any public tender.

Source: Apple Daily #Oct23
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20201023/3AK4KI7BE5E7FMVG7DJSQLRCD4/

#Collusion #University #Academia

#University #Totalitarian
#HKU President Proposes to Appoint Deans Directly; Students' Union: "Co-Governance Must Not Be Violated"

It has been reported that the Council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) will alter the appointment process of the deans. Originally, university deans sre selected by democratically elected staff members and students. With the reported new proposal, the new deans would be appointed by the University President directly.

The Faculty Societies of HKU Students' Union (#HKUSU) released a joint statement in response to the Council's proposed amendment on the Dean Recruitment Guidelines. The Students' Union calls this decision "reckless", and urged that it be utterly rejected.

The statement also emphasizes that the principle of co-governance must not be violated: A university co-governed by both students and the staff can prevent the management from getting out of touch with the staff and students. Should the university proceed to confer disproportionate authority on the president, the student union will put up resistance and ensure that a fair and just system could be maintained.

Source: Stand News #Nov8
#Power #Dean #Academia

#Mainlandization #Sinicization
#Poll: 64% Respondents Consider #HKU's Appointment of Mainland Professors as Vice-Presidents as Against Principle of Fairness

The governing council of the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) appointed two professors from mainland China, Max Shen Zuojan and Gong Peng, as vice-presidents. Shen is suspected to be a Communist Party member but the council clarified that the allegations are found to be unsubstantiated.

The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (#PORI) has interviewed 5,767 Hong Kong citizens in November 2020. The survey asked the question: 'The University of Hong Kong recently appointed two scholars from Tsinghua University, Max Shen and Peng Gong, as Vice-Presidents. How much do you consider the appointment to comply with, or not comply with, the principle of fairness?'.

89% of the pro-democracy respondents said the appointment did not comply with the principle of fairness. A total of 64% of respondents, pro-democracy or otherwise, considered the appointment 'not quite comply', ' very much not comply' and 'entirely not comply' with the principle.

Dr. Chan King-ming, associate professor at the School of Life Sciences of Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) and the former chairman of the Teacher's Association of CUHK, said that this appointment clearly shows the mainlandization and Sinicization of HKU.

Chan added that when he was the union chief a few years ago, a number of his colleagues at CUHK complained the use of Mandarin during meetings, 'it is now mainlandization, not globalization.'

Chan mentioned that since many mainland Chinese scholars had returned to China from the US, Hong Kong had become one of their preferred destinations. He worried that these scholars are being intentionally installed in different universities and organizations in Hong Kong. He added that HKU's appointment this time was related to the earlier change in the governance structure, such as the direct interventions occurring in the governing council and the Court. Such things had actually happened 15 years ago at the university.'

Chan also criticized that this appointment had already posed threats to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, and noted that the issue of resource allocation was involved here as a number of scholars had been invited to work in mainland China, especially the Greater Bay Area.

Regarding the National Security Law, Chan remarked that chilling effect had already been brought by the reporting hotline set up by the Police's National Security Department, and 'Cultural Revolution 2.0' had come. Some students had begun self-censoring as they changed the names of their online accounts.

Source: InMedia #Nov6
https://bit.ly/34ZHErD

#AcademicFreedom #University #Academia #CCPControl #CulturalRevolution

#AcademicFreedom #University
Cultural Revolution 2.0: China-run Newspapers Slam HKUST Professor for Breaching National Security Law

The Education Sector and academia in Hong Kong have been targeted by the pro-Beijing forces and Chinese Communist Party (#CCP) mouthpiece.

The CCP-loyal Wen Wei Po and Tai Kung Pao have published a series of reports which slammed Dr. Lee Ching-kwan, a professor of sociology at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (#HKUST), for her speech delivered in an online forum held by Hong Kong Democracy Council (#HKDC) in May 2020.

The CCP-owned newspaper accused Lee of "advocating Hong Kong Independence" and "violating the national security law".

Organizedby HKDC on May 26, the discussion topic of the forum was: "Is this the end of the 'One Country Two Systems'?".

The speakers included the former leaders of now-disbanded Demosistō Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, as well as Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who is a former law professor of the University of Hong Kong (#HKU).

The video of the online forum was deleted on the Facebook page of the HKDC. According to the video spread by the Beijing-loyal presses, Lee said in English, "I think it helps not to think Hong Kong as a Chinese city. We don't belong to China...I don't think. We belong to the world."

Lee Ching-kwan was the Dr. Chung Sze-yuen Professor of Social Science at HKUST and the sociology professor of University of California, Los Angeles.

Source: Stand News #Nov20

#Censorship #Academia #UCLA #Professor #LeeChingKwan #CulturalRevolution

#Academia #Censorship #Discrimination
Academic Organization Bars Taiwanese Scholar from Attending Event Due to his Taiwanese Nationality

A Taiwanese scholar was rejected by the ICTP's winter school of Quantitative Systems Biology (http://indico.ictp.it/event/9131/overview?fbclid=IwAR0wrp8d0AJVZriQcMMBpqxaIW2K3IBoTjqdSwDt7HNNNIGJz4a0T72Ppxw) due to his Taiwanese nationality.

According to the affected scholar, the organizer of th event told him a "new United Nations' rule" since 2019 that "Taiwanese are not allowed to attend any event under UNESCO". The reason is that "Taiwan is not a member state of the UN".

Source: Chih-fu Yeh's Facebook #Nov30
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4458474867500152&id=100000130488460

#UN #ICTP #Taiwan

#University
Chinese Professor Lists "Reporting Crime to the Natioanl Security Bureau" in her CV

Wei Li works as an assistant professor at the Department of Politics and Administration of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) in Hong Kong. Her controversial behaviour has been reported by the media since the Anti-ELAB Movement in 2019.

Previously, Li has made comments against the pro-democracy protests. She, for instance, criticised students protesting against the #NationalSecurityLaw as "wasting time, shortening life span".

Li also openly mentioned her "consumption" of the food offerings from the pro-democracy protesters to the deceased. In a Facebook group, Li claimed to have taken the food away from the altar set up by protesters, arousing the discontent in the community.

Recently, she mentioned in her academic CV on the university's webpage that she has been reporting "law-breaking incidents" and advicing the National Security Police Department.

In January 2021, a video went viral on the Internet, capturing a 39-year-old woman argueing with a MTR staff after she was caught using a senior transport card. It was reported that Wei Li was that woman.

#WeiLi #NationalSecurityLaw #FoodOffering #Academia #SeniorOctopus

Source: Stand News #Jun30
https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E5%B1%A5%E6%AD%B7%E5%88%97%E5%90%91%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%89%E8%99%95%E8%88%89%E5%A0%B1%E9%81%95%E6%B3%95%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6-%E9%A3%9F%E7%A5%AD%E5%93%81%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%A7%E6%95%99%E6%8E%88%E5%94%94%E8%A8%98%E5%BE%97%E5%8F%AF%E8%83%BD%E5%AF%AB%E9%8C%AF%E5%B1%A5%E6%AD%B7%E8%A2%AB%E9%A7%AD

#WhiteTerror #Academia
Hong Kong Professor's Shanghai Lecture Live Stream Cut Off after Allegedly Being Reported to Party Authorities

#FudanUniversity #LingnanUniversity #AcademicFreedom

Source: Stand News; #Sept25

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#Academia #Oppression #FreedomOfSpeech #University
Lingnan University Terminates Adjunct Appointment of 2 Outspoken Professors

#LingnanUniversity #HongKong #TearGas #NationalSecurityLaw”

Source: Stand News; #Sept30

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#Academia #Oppression #FreedomOfSpeech #University
Lingnan University Terminates Adjunct Appointment of 2 Outspoken Professors

In response to inquiries by Stand News, the Hong Kong Lingnan University (#HKLU) indicated the adjunct appointment of Law Wing-Sang and Hui Po-Keung have ended in September 2021, and their names have been removed from the school website's list of faculty members. They were professors of Cultural Studies.

The university did not mention the reason for not renewing their contracts.

Law and Hui are scholars active in pro-democracy protest movements, commenting often on current affairs. At the beginning of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, after the police fired tear gas on the gathering crowds, the two publicly condemned the government's actions and went on strike as teachers.

Hui is also a trustee of the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund”, a fund supporting those injured or arrested during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement.

After the implement of National Security Law, Law continued to comment on newspapers. He published an opinion piece in MingPao on September 3, 2021, saying that the implementation of the National Security Law had 'perfected' Hong Kong's democratic 'election' system overnight. It also put an end to the ongoing controversy over the pace of democratization since the city's “return to China”: “Hong Kong strides into the era of “authoritarian rule”.

Source: Stand News; #Sept30
https://www.thestandnews.com/society/a_%E5%B6%BA%E5%A4%A7%E8%88%87%E7%BE%85%E6%B0%B8%E7%94%9F%E8%A8%B1%E5%AF%B6%E5%BC%B7%E5%90%88%E7%B4%84%E7%B5%82%E7%B5%90-%E6%95%99%E8%81%B7%E5%93%A1%E5%90%8D%E5%96%AE%E5%B7%B2%E9%99%A4%E5%90%8D

#LingnanUniversity #HongKong #TearGas #NationalSecurityLaw #Censorship #Professor #LawWingSang #HuiPoKeung

#HKProtest #University
Defiant University Students Carry Out Pop-Up Protests on Graduation Day, Calls Attention to Persecuted Students

November 4 marked the annual graduation ceremony of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK). Although no large-scale protests were seen this year under the iron grip of the National Security Law, traces of defiance still sprang up around the campus.

Large Banners Protest Admin Interference in Student Governance

As early as 6:30am, a large vertical banner with the words “Restore Student Autonomy「還我學生自治」” was spotted, as was another smaller one that said “Consultation Must Precede Staff-Student Collaboration 員生共治，必先共議」” . By 8am, both banners had been removed by school staff.

On the #WallofDemocracy, a large notice board created for students to voice opinion, multiple posters were seen with the call “OSA and subsidiary faculty committee, join the provisional Administration”, protesting the school's new requirement for student organizations to be registered with the school administration.

During the graduation ceremony, defiant graduates from Nursing showed protest handbills that wrote “Dare to be different; Be Faithful to your belief 「棱角分明，毋負期許」”. Some social work graduates wore white ribbons on their graduation robes, and carried handbills with slogans such as “Grieve our Student Union”.

Ex-Police Security Chief Disrupts Students Handing Out White Ribbons, But Chastised by Parents

At around 12:30, 5 CUHK students held up a banner that wrote “Grieve my CUHK” on the University Mall, and set up a counter to hand out white ribbons.

Although the group of students did not obstruct the proceeding of graduation ceremony, they were quickly encircled by more than 10 campus security and were ordered to leave. The students demanded the security guards for reasons that they were not allowed to hand out white ribbons, as they were not obstructing the ceremony.

Lee Wing-kwong, head of Campus Security and a former Police Superintendent, ordered his staff to remove the students’ protest materials immediately. He was, however, stopped by members of Student Affairs Office, who asked him to “calm down”.

Some parents on the site stepped in to show their support to the protesting students. Quoting the classic Confucian text "Great Learning", they criticized the campus guards for abusing their powers: "Don't you officials remember the Way of the Great Learning?"

"We've Graduated, But They Couldn't"

Scattered protest activities continued around campus into the evening. Nine graduates, wearing their graduation robes, held up signs with names of fellow students who had been arrested and jailed for their involvement in the 2019 anti-ELAB movement.

Their names are Cheung Chun-ho, Tang Hei-man, Ko Tsz-bun, Lau Chun-yuk, Fu Ngai-Ching, Chen Lik-sik, Hui Yi-shui, Li Chun-ho.

The last sign read poignantly: "We've graduated, but they couldn't."

#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #NeverForget #Academia #WallofDemocracy #CUSU

Sources: Citizen News, Chinese University Student Press; #Nov4
https://bit.ly/3nVrgRf

#WhiteTerror
China-owned Media Accuses Taiwanese Scholar of Violating Hong Kong's #NationalSecurityLaw

In an article published on January 6, 2022, Ta Kung Pao, a China-owned newspaper printed in Hong Kong, accused Wu Rwei-ren, a political science scholar affiliated with Academic Sinica in Taiwan of violating Hong Kong's national security law.

The pro-Beijing newspaper made its claim based on an essay Wu wrote in February 2020, before the National Security Law was passed on June 30, 2020. The essay received the Human Rights News Award of the Hong Kong Journalists Association in 2021.

Wu responded that following the crackdown on independent news outlets like Stand News and Citizen News in Hong Kong, Beijing is trying to threaten international scholars who support Hong Kong.

Wu believes that Beijing will not be able to achieve the goal, as its acts have demonstrated the difference between the laws set up by the regime under the Chinese Communist Party and those practiced in democractic countries.

Source: Liberty Times #Jan8
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3794583

#AcademicSinica #WuRweiRen #Academia #AcademicFreedom #PressFreedom #CCPThreats