Uphold academic freedom in resolving row over appointment, urge all 10 HKU deans
In a rare appeal amid the delayed appointment of Johannes Chan, they also express 'dismay' at students who stormed council meeting
All 10 deans of the University of Hong Kong issued a rare joint statement yesterday, calling for an adherence to the principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in resolving the row over a controversially delayed managerial appointment.
They also expressed "dismay" at students who stormed a university council meeting on Tuesday and asked "all parties to put the interest of the university first" as they seek a consensus.
The statement came hours after HKU student leader Billy Fung Jing-en warned his union would not rule out a repeat of their action when the governing body met again, if that was needed "to block decisions that hurt the institution".
Fung told the the union would not change its mind in the light of the appeal by the deans.
"[The union] is accountable to the students, and when students discuss with us about our next actions, they would have [considered] the deans' remarks," he said.
A group of HKU students swept into the council's meeting room after members voted down a motion to stop delaying the appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor. Former law dean Johannes Chan Man-mun was tipped to take up the job, but pro-Beijing newspapers have criticised him for his working relationship with HKU law professor and Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting.
Students were concerned that the university's academic freedom was being compromised, but HKU's vice-chancellor, Professor Peter Mathieson, reprimanded students for disrupting the meeting.
In the joint statement, the deans said: "Academic freedom and institutional autonomy, guaranteed by Basic Law Article 137, are the absolute bedrock of higher education in Hong Kong.
"We cannot emphasise more strongly the importance of adhering to these principles in all that the university does." But they added they "cannot condone uncivil activity that seeks to disrupt normal operations of the university" and urged all parties to "find a consensual way forward as quickly as possible".
Science dean Professor Kwok Sun, one of the five HKU councillors who previously wrote to ask council chairman Dr Leong Che-hung not to delay the pro-vice-chancellor's appointment, was involved in the statement.
Postgraduate student representative Aloysius Wilfred Raj Arokiaraj was also among the five who wrote to Leong, but he confirmed yesterday he resigned as a councillor on July 3, three days after the body decided to delay the appointment.
In a letter to the , he said that he disagreed with "some decisions" the council had made, but he also condemned students and others involved in the storming of the council for not respecting the chairman.
Leong said yesterday: "I share the feelings of the deans that we cannot condone uncivil activity that seeks to disrupt normal operations of the university, under any circumstance."
Meanwhile, "a group of HKU alumni" set up an online petition on Wednesday, calling for Mathieson to "strictly handle the students' law-breaking behaviour".
They also said education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen's remarks, such as questioning whether councillor Lo Chung-mau faked injury when he fell to floor during the fracas, "did not represent" them.
