PTU News Reporter
The Government announced on New Year’s Eve 2015 that Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung was appointed as the Chairman of the Council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), which has now triggered off discontent of the community. 19 different organizations including teaching staff and students of HKU, HKU Alumni Concern Group and HKU Academic Staff Association organized a rally on 3 January to protest against Li’s appointment. Moreover, the organizations also urged the concerned authority to review the ordinance so that the Chief Executive will not become default Chancellor of the statutory institutes. It was reported that more than 3,000 joining the rally on that day.
Many protesters held the slogans against Arthur Li’s appointment as Chairman of HKU Council. Spokesman of different organizations criticized CY Leung for appointing Arthur Li as chairman who had not been supported by staff, students and alumni of HKU and he seemed to provoke more antagonism and deepen the divide in the community intentionally. Fung Wai-wah, HKPTU President, pointed out that Arthur Li showed no respect for institutional autonomy and academic freedom and the community would not want to see Li to ruin the institutions. Fung also thought that Li would only put the sector of tertiary education under surveillance and do nothing for the long-term well-being of HKU. Fung revealed again that results of the survey conducted in October of last year demonstrated that 74% of the members of the sector of tertiary education were against Li’s appointment as chairman of HKU council, and 61% of them expressed that Li was “Very unsuitable” choice for this post.
政府一直未有履行承諾，為教師成立教學專業議會，讓教師同樣享有如其他專業一樣的專業自主權力和地位，近日更被揭露不動聲色，借加強各持分者的代表為由，計劃大幅削走教師工會及教育團體代表在教育人員專業操守議會的議席，並改由教育局委任的家校會提名的家長所取代，這令人憂慮是特首委任不獲港大師生和校友等持分者信任的李國章，入主香港大學校務委員會的翻版。