An estimated 2,000 students and professors gathered at the University of Hong Kong on October 6, 2015, in a silent march protesting the loss of academic autonomy in the university.
Dressed in academic gowns or black clothing, the crowd silently marched from the Visitor’s Center on Centennial Campus to Sun Yat-sen Place on Main Campus. Leading the crowd were the organizers, HKU professors Timothy O’Leary, Lusina Ho, Joseph Chan, and Dr. Petula Ho. The march lasted thirty minutes and ended with O’Leary delivering a passionate speech on academic freedom at the university.
“We march in silence to demonstrate to ourselves and the city of Hong Kong what a university would be like if its academic staff and students are silent,” said O’Leary, explaining the significance of the march. He said there has been a “climate of fear” at the university for the past six months, and expressed hope that it can be dispelled.
O’Leary said, “There is a crisis of governance in this university,” referring to the HKU Council’s decision to reject Johannes Chan Man-mun’s appointment as pro vice chancellor. He called upon the HKU Council Chairman, Dr. Leong Che-hung, to address the matter immediately.
Billy Fung Jing-en, the president of the HKU Student Union and one of the two student representatives on the Council, recently violated confidentiality rules by revealing what was discussed behind the closed doors of the HKU Council meeting where Chan’s appointment was rejected. The twelve Council members who voted against Chan cited reasons such as his lack of a doctorate degree, his lack of published work, and his lack of care for a Council member during the ambush of a Council meeting on July 28.
O’Leary called upon the university to review the governance structure of all universities in Hong Kong and demanded that “the Chief Executive of Hong Kong should not be the Chancellor of any university in this city.”
In response, the University of Hong Kong released a statement that said, “Academic freedom and freedom of expression… are core values of the University which we are determined to uphold and safeguard.”
A public forum regarding the issue of academic freedom at the University will take place on Friday, October 9.
Dressed in academic gowns or black clothing, the crowd silently marched from the Visitor’s Center on Centennial Campus to Sun Yat-sen Place on Main Campus. Leading the crowd were the organizers, HKU professors Timothy O’Leary, Lusina Ho, Joseph Chan, and Dr. Petula Ho. The march lasted thirty minutes and ended with O’Leary delivering a passionate speech on academic freedom at the university.
“We march in silence to demonstrate to ourselves and the city of Hong Kong what a university would be like if its academic staff and students are silent,” said O’Leary, explaining the significance of the march. He said there has been a “climate of fear” at the university for the past six months, and expressed hope that it can be dispelled.
O’Leary said, “There is a crisis of governance in this university,” referring to the HKU Council’s decision to reject Johannes Chan Man-mun’s appointment as pro vice chancellor. He called upon the HKU Council Chairman, Dr. Leong Che-hung, to address the matter immediately.
Billy Fung Jing-en, the president of the HKU Student Union and one of the two student representatives on the Council, recently violated confidentiality rules by revealing what was discussed behind the closed doors of the HKU Council meeting where Chan’s appointment was rejected. The twelve Council members who voted against Chan cited reasons such as his lack of a doctorate degree, his lack of published work, and his lack of care for a Council member during the ambush of a Council meeting on July 28.
O’Leary called upon the university to review the governance structure of all universities in Hong Kong and demanded that “the Chief Executive of Hong Kong should not be the Chancellor of any university in this city.”
In response, the University of Hong Kong released a statement that said, “Academic freedom and freedom of expression… are core values of the University which we are determined to uphold and safeguard.”
A public forum regarding the issue of academic freedom at the University will take place on Friday, October 9.