University of Hong Kong convenes panel to investigate allegations against institution’s head
Hong Kong Free Press
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)’s governing body has convened a panel to probe misconduct complaints against the institution’s president, who has continued to denounce “rumour-mongers” and the allegations made.
The HKU Council held a meeting on Monday to discuss anonymous email complaints against president and vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang. The governing body said a five-member taskforce would be formed to investigate per the university’s “whistle-blowing” policy and procedures.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, council chairperson Priscilla Wong said the panel would be led by council member and lawmaker Jimmy Ng. The other four on the panel will include council members Brian Stevenson and Jason Chiu, as well as two non-council members who will be appointed in due course.
“Following the law and the procedures, [the panel] will restore and analyse the truth in a fair and impartial manner, and will submit a report to the council for follow-up,” Wong said in Cantonese.
The panel is expected to report to the council within 12 weeks and follow-up action will be considered if necessary, Wong said.
She declined to say whether the report would be made public, despite calls from university alumni for an open investigation.
Wong also said that Zhang Xiang would remain the university’s head in the meantime.
“[Zhang] is still our president. For now, we do not have any assumptions. We will handle the complaints carefully. And we will take action only when we have discovered the truth,” Wong said.
Whistle-blower accusations
The formation of the panel is the latest development relating to an ongoing saga at HKU, where the institution’s head is facing allegations of misconduct and mismanagement. The claims were made in anonymous emails sent to members of the HKU Council last month.
Zhang was said to have mishandled a donation from a mainland Chinese corporation, recruited a US head-hunter without following procurement procedures to hire a medical dean and a vice-president, and misappropriated school funds for renovation work.
The Chinese-American physicist – who was appointed as the university’s president and vice-chancellor in 2018 – has denied the claims and slammed “rumour-mongers” of leaking confidential information and distorting the truth.
Zhang attended the meeting in HKU’s Knowles Building on Monday with his lawyers, Ming Pao reported. The meeting was pushed back from last week, when he sent a lawyer’s letter requesting a postponement. That letter was leaked to the media shortly after.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Zhang expressed disappointment that his communication with the council was made public. He also raised concerns over the ability of the council to handle the accusations against him in a “fair and impartial manner.”
“The fact that our confidential communication was leaked immediately raises concerns about potential unauthorized disclosure by certain members of the Council and its potential connection to the rumourmongers,” Zhang said in his statement.
Zhang urged the panel to handle the matter in a “fair and just manner.”
He also said his lawyers had that all the accusations were “baseless and maliciously fabricated” after reviewing the documents, analysing the facts, and examining HKU’s policies and relevant laws.
“I have a solid legal basis to pursue defamation lawsuits against the rumourmongers,” Zhang wrote, but added that anonymity had made it difficult to do so.
Zhang’s statement was released by an external public relation agency, instead of via the HKU Communications and Public Affairs Office.
Charles Li, a council member and the former CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said he was saddened by the recent saga involving the leaders of HKU. Li, whose term in the governing body will end this month, said he supported a “serious and just” investigation into the matter.
“We need to make sure whatever is done to the great name of this university does not become permanent,” he said.
But he also urged the upholding of the presumption of innocence, and said people should not “rush to judgment.”
“What I am worried about, while the process is running for the next few weeks and months, maybe longer, the university should not be put in a permanent political infight, conflict, and disputes.”
“If we find something wrong with what is alleged, or we prove that to be the case, then we deal with it decisively,” Li said.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Tuesday’s regular Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive John Lee said that it was in everybody’s interests that the matter is handled in a fair and impartial manner.
“Speculations and otherwise accusations which are based on individual feelings will not help the whole matter,” Lee said.
Zhang succeeded Peter Mathieson, who resigned after four years in office, in 2018. Since assuming the role, he has faced controversy 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.
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