A veteran HSBC banker has been appointed to head the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) governing council, after the city’s government stepped in to end a year of infighting between his predecessor on the council and HKU’s president.
Veteran HSBC banker Peter Wong at an HSBC interim results press conference in 2010, when he was chief executive of the bank’s Asia-Pacific operations. Photo: Ed Jones/AFP.
Peter Wong, the non-executive chairperson of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific operations, will succeed barrister Priscilla Wong, the government said on Wednesday in a statement which also announced five other new council members.
Since the colonial era, the city’s leader by default also serves as the chancellor of all public universities, a position that empowers him or her to make such top appointments.
The government set up a group in June to investigate the university’s internal affairs, a response to conflict over management issues between some members of the HKU Council – especially Priscilla Wong – and the university’s president, Zhang Xiang.
While the president of HKU is responsible for academic and administrative matters, the council is HKU’s governing body with the power to appoint senior members of the school’s management.
Zhang complained that he had been kept in the dark about the council’s appointment of several interim vice-presidents while he himself was investigated for alleged misconduct – and later cleared – over the handling of donations.
Priscilla Wong, HKU council chairperson, meets the press after a special council meeting in HKU’s Knowles Building on October, 9, 2023. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.
Peter Wong will take the reins next January. The top banker is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a top-level advisory body to Beijing’s legislature.
As chief executive of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific division, Wong in 2020 signed a petition backing the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Priscilla Wong, who was appointed as the council chair by the city’s then-leader Carrie Lam, began her term in January 2022. She was a member of the council before becoming chair, and has also held board positions at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the German Swiss International School.
Peter Wong is a member of an advisory board for Lingnan College, part of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. But most of his affiliations have been with commerce and banking groups, including some in mainland China.
5 new members
Apart from Wong, the government appointed five new members – Simon Li, Irons Sze, Rock Chen, Wilfred Wong and Samuel Yung.
The University of Hong Kong on October 10, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Chen, Sze and Yung have political backgrounds, according to Ming Pao. Chen, a lawmaker, is a Hong Kong deputy to China’s legislature the National People’s Congress. Sze is a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC, while Yung – like Wong – is a member of the CPPCC.
“The newly appointed members are all elites in the community, possessing outstanding capabilities and rich experience,” a government statement read.
“The Chief Executive hopes that the new appointments will provide the HKU’s governance with a new outlook and new impetus, begin a new chapter in governance, steer the HKU towards striving for excellence and provide fresh momentum to the university.”
Ronick Chan, a lawmaker, is the only HKU Council member whose appointment was renewed.
