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#Mainlandization #Sinicization
#Poll: 64% Respondents Consider #HKU's Appointment of Mainland Professors as Vice-Presidents as Against Principle of Fairness

The governing council of the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) appointed two professors from mainland China, Max Shen Zuojan and Gong Peng, as vice-presidents. Shen is suspected to be a Communist Party member but the council clarified that the allegations are found to be unsubstantiated.

The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (#PORI) has interviewed 5,767 Hong Kong citizens in November 2020. The survey asked the question: 'The University of Hong Kong recently appointed two scholars from Tsinghua University, Max Shen and Peng Gong, as Vice-Presidents. How much do you consider the appointment to comply with, or not comply with, the principle of fairness?'.

89% of the pro-democracy respondents said the appointment did not comply with the principle of fairness. A total of 64% of respondents, pro-democracy or otherwise, considered the appointment 'not quite comply', ' very much not comply' and 'entirely not comply' with the principle.

Dr. Chan King-ming, associate professor at the School of Life Sciences of Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) and the former chairman of the Teacher's Association of CUHK, said that this appointment clearly shows the mainlandization and Sinicization of HKU.

Chan added that when he was the union chief a few years ago, a number of his colleagues at CUHK complained the use of Mandarin during meetings, 'it is now mainlandization, not globalization.'

Chan mentioned that since many mainland Chinese scholars had returned to China from the US, Hong Kong had become one of their preferred destinations. He worried that these scholars are being intentionally installed in different universities and organizations in Hong Kong. He added that HKU's appointment this time was related to the earlier change in the governance structure, such as the direct interventions occurring in the governing council and the Court. Such things had actually happened 15 years ago at the university.'

Chan also criticized that this appointment had already posed threats to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, and noted that the issue of resource allocation was involved here as a number of scholars had been invited to work in mainland China, especially the Greater Bay Area.

Regarding the National Security Law, Chan remarked that chilling effect had already been brought by the reporting hotline set up by the Police's National Security Department, and 'Cultural Revolution 2.0' had come. Some students had begun self-censoring as they changed the names of their online accounts.

Source: InMedia #Nov6
https://bit.ly/34ZHErD

#AcademicFreedom #University #Academia #CCPControl #CulturalRevolution
#University #Censorship
#HKU Denies Contract Renewal for Renowned & Outspoken Hepatologist

At the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the Faculty of Medicine's Professor of Medicine and Hepatology, Lai Ching-lung, rejected from renewing his contract.

This decision of the University management will possibly lead to the departure of Lai as early as in June 2021.

It was reported that the HKU's Faculty of Medicine had already recommended Lai to have his contract renewed, but the recommendation was not taken by the University Selection and Promotion Committee.

The 72 year-old professor is socially conscious, and had participated in a sit-in during the 2019 anti-ELAB movement wearing a black mask, holding a slogan condemning the police for "obscuring the truth".

In 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Lai also appeared at the rally for healthcare professionals fighting to lock Hong Kong's borders with China.

Source: Apple Daily, #Mar2
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20210302/X7FFHG4DWBCCVL4MZEU5U4FNFQ/

#LaiChingLung #Scholar #AcademicFreedom #FreeSpeech
#Education #AcademicFreedom
University of Chicago received complaint for inviting #NathanLaw to participate in school event and "hurting its Chinese students"

Source: Stand News #May24

Read more
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https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/29972
Hong Kong Professor's Shanghai Lecture Live Stream Cut Off after Allegedly Being Reported to Party Authorities

Professor Xu Zidong of Hong Kong's Lingnan University spoke at a symposium on Chinese literature in Shanghai, when the lecture's live stream was shut down after an attendee allegedly reported his speech to the China's Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI). The actual reason for the shutdown was not known.

Xu is the former Head of Lingnan University's Chinese Department, and attended the symposium in Shanghai's Fudan University as a guest speaker. His talk discussed the three systems of authority portrayed in the 1993 Chinese novel White Deer Plain - "political authority", "clan authority", and "divine authority".

A video clip of the live stream was shared on Weibo, showing the moment it was being shut down. It showed Fudan University Professor Li Nan, the symposium's host, slowly turning the live stream camera away from Xu, who continued his lecture. Li then spoke into the camera: "The disciplinary Inspector came a moment ago, and said we're not allowed to live-stream this lecture. A female student was taking photos earlier, and sent it to the CCDI. The CCDI secretary came to shut us down… Yes, we'll record this with our phones. We'll record it."

The video was shared over 4000 times, until it was ultimately deleted.

#FudanUniversity #LingnanUniversity #AcademicFreedom

Source: Stand News; #Sept25
https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/ab%E5%B6%BA%E5%8D%97%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E7%B3%BB%E5%89%8D%E7%B3%BB%E4%B8%BB%E4%BB%BB%E5%BE%A9%E6%97%A6%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8%E8%AB%87%E6%94%BF%E6%AC%8A%E6%97%8F%E6%AC%8A%E7%A5%9E%E6%AC%8A-%E5%82%B3%E9%81%AD%E5%AD%B8%E7%94%9F%E8%88%89%E5%A0%B1%E7%9B%B4%E6%92%AD%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%B7