Chinese University of Hong Kong head thanks former vice-president for service after unprecedented sacking

Hong Kong Free Press

Chinese University head thanks former vice-president for service after unprecedented sacking

The head of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has thanked former vice-president Eric Ng for his services to the institution after Ng was fired last week by the university’s governing body, citing “a loss of confidence” in him.

Writing in a “message from the Vice-Chancellor,” CUHK head Rocky Tuan thanked Ng for his 16 years of service at the university, “first as Director of Registry Services, then as Registrar, and then as University Secretary which then evolved into a joint position as Vice-President (Administration).”

His tenure came to an end last Wednesday when the CUHK Council reached the decision to terminate his employment.

It was one of the first major decisions made by the council after the city’s legislature passed a controversial bill to reform the governing body, which will significantly reduce the influence of the university’s staff and academics.

CUHK Council chairperson John Chai and vice-chairperson Norman Chan meet the press after a council meeting on December 13, 2023. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.

Council chair John Chai said the governing body “no longer had confidence” in Ng, noting that he was one of the 1,500 signatories of a petition to protest against the reform on the basis that the proposed changes would undermine academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

His endorsement of the petition apparently sparked doubt among council members over his ability to remain neutral, Chai said. The Code of Practice for council members published by CUHK, however, contains no mention of “neutrality.”

Sutherland report

“Eric joined CUHK after a long career in higher education both in the UK and in Hong Kong where among other roles, he notably wrote the detailed text of the University Grants Committee’s landmark 2002 ‘Sutherland Report’ on Higher Education in Hong Kong,” Tuan continued.

Eric Ng was fired from his position as vice-president and university secretary in CUHK following a council meeting on December 13, 2023. Photo: CUHK.

“My thanks again to Eric for his long and meticulous service at CUHK and I wish him the very best in his future endeavours,” Tuan said.

The Sutherland Report, a blueprint for the development of higher education in Hong Kong, was extensively referenced by proponents of the amendment, including several lawmakers, to push for the council overhaul.

While the report did not specifically require universities to downsize their governing councils, it did identify a “shift to smaller governing bodies designed to handle more important decisions” as good practice in university governance overseas.

The report also cites examples of overseas universities which are “seeking to distance themselves from the Government in order to increase their autonomy and independence,” as well as cases of local universities whose councils are made up of a majority of external members who can independently advise the university “as lay members with loyalties lying neither to the Government or the institution itself.”

Lawmakers, meanwhile, have said that patriotism was a necessary requirement for council members.

In a statement regarding his sacking last week, Ng said he was “shocked, aggrieved, and sad” about the council’s decision, adding that accusations that his professional conduct contradicted good governance principles had “constituted serious injustice.”