Hong Kong government sets up task force to handle management conflict at University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has set up a task force to handle a conflict between the University of Hong Kong (HKU)’s president and its governing body relating to changes in the school’s senior management staff.
Tensions between president and vice-chancellor of HKU, Zhang Xiang, and the HKU Council over recent appointments of the school’s vice-president first came to light in May. On Monday, Zhang and the HKU Council issued open letters disputing each other’s claims on the matter, with Zhang saying he had not been consulted with on the HKU Council’s appointments to vice-president positions.
While the president of HKU is responsible for the school’s academic and administrative matters, the council is HKU’s governing body with the power to appoint senior members of the school’s management.
According to a statement announcing the task force on Tuesday, the government said the Education Bureau had seen “inconsistency in the information provided by different parties.”
There was a “need to clarify the facts and study how to deal with the matter,” the statement said, adding that the task force would also propose improvements to HKU’s administration and ensure the university’s spending is aligned with the proper use of public funding.
The task force will be led by Permanent Secretary for Education, Michelle Li, as well as Tim Lui, the chairperson of the University Grants Committee, which allocates funding to the city’s public universities.
Zhang had earlier said he was kept in the dark about the council’s appointments of seven interim vice-president positions. But the council on Monday said Zhang had sent a representative to meetings on the matter and had not raised an objection.
“Therefore, [Zhang’s] claim of being ‘completely unaware’ is unfounded,” the council said in a letter – seen by HKFP – sent to students, staff and alumni of the university on Monday.
The council’s letter prompted Zhang to issue a statement that evening. The vice-chancellor said he was only informed of the names of the appointees on May 28, when the council convened over the appointments, adding that the council’s letter contained “untrue materials and unfair criticism” and was issued despite multiple members’ disapproval.
Chief Executive John Lee said during a routine Tuesday press briefing that he had urged “good communication and cooperation” at the university, saying he had met with the president and vice-chancellor of HKU, Zhang Xiang, as well as council chairperson Priscilla Wong.
Lee added that “the government has its standards and demands” when providing funding for universities to operate.
“Public money must be spent with good value,” Lee said.
“If HKU has problems with administration, then it should be improved. If there are important vacancies that have been left long vacant, then they have to be filled up. If there are procedures that are unclear, then we need to write out clearer procedures,” he added.
Conflict among top management
The internal conflict at HKU’s top management surfaced last year when the council launched an investigation after anonymous whistle-blowers made misconduct and mismanagement allegations against the school president.
Zhang was cleared of the allegations in April. He said the saga involved leaking confidential information and that it had “tarnished the reputation of the University of Hong Kong in the global scene.”
The council’s vice-president appointments involved the reappointment of current staff to different roles. Deputy vice-chancellor Richard Wong, who also held the position of executive vice-president in administration and finance, was appointed as vice-president in institutional advancement, a position that had been vacant since July 2021.
Gong Peng, who was previously the vice-president in teaching and learning, was appointed as vice-president in global affairs, which had been vacant since January 2019.
Vivian Yam, a chemistry professor who was not part of the management team before, replaced Richard Wong as the deputy vice-chancellor.
Zhang, a Chinese-American physicist, succeeded Peter Mathieson as HKU’s president and vice-chancellor in 2018. Since assuming the role, he faced controversies over the alleged suppression of academic freedom and nepotism, including when his ex-colleagues from UC Berkeley were appointed as vice-presidents of HKU in 2020.
Under Zhang’s leadership, the university has cut ties with its students’ union and removed monuments that commemorated those killed during the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, 1989, when China’s People’s Liberation Army dispersed student pro-democracy protesters in Beijing.
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