Occupy Central
Occupy Central is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to "international standards." The movement was initiated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting (戴耀廷), an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, in January 2013.
Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement (Chinese: 雨傘運動; pinyin: yǔsǎn yùndòng) is a loose political movement that was created spontaneously during the Hong Kong protests of 2014. Its name derives from the recognition of the umbrella as a symbol of defiance and resistance against the Hong Kong government, and the united grass-roots objection to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of 31 August.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
The movement consists of individuals numbering in the tens of thousands who participated in the protests that began on 28 September 2014, although Scholarism, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, Occupy Central with Love and Peace, groups are principally driving the demands for the rescission of the NPCSC decision.
Occupy Central site in an area surrounding the Legislative Council and Central Government Offices at Tamar were cleared 22-06-2015.
Hong Kong reform vote
The Hong Kong government’s political reform proposal for how the city elects its leader by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 is based on a strict framework set by Beijing. The plan limits the number of candidates to two or three and requires them to win majority support from a 1,200 strong nominating committee. Arguing that this does not constitute genuine universal suffrage, pan-democratic lawmakers have vowed to reject the package, while pro-democracy groups have protested. The government’s resolution was to be put to a vote by the 70-member Legislative Council in June 2015, requiring a two-thirds majority to be passed.
POST OCCUPY CENTRAL - DAY 289
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 104 (30-09-2015)
POST REFORM VOTE：DAY 104 (30-09-2015)
Full coverage of the day’s events
Coconuts HKFrontline
LIVE: HKU fallout as Council rejects Johannes Chan as pro-Vice Chancellor
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Kelvin Yam Kin-fung, a member of the Progressive Lawyers Group,has created an online generator to "send sympathy" postcards to Professor Lo Chung-mau. Lo accused Chan of “not showing sympathy when [he] fell” during an earlier Council meeting.
The article on CNBC reads:
A senior Western academic at the university who declined to be identified said the campaign against Chan had created a "climate of deep apprehension for all, and a climate of fear for those who are outspoken or politically involved".
"Hong Kong University was in a very special place, its own bubble of academic freedom," said the academic.
"They have moved far faster than I thought they ever would to interfere with that."
Beijing has not publicly stated its opposition to Chan's appointment but Beijing-controlled media has published more than 300 articles since November targeting him.
Last night Council chairman Edward Leong Che-hung released a statement in which he “condemn[ed] the deplorable action” by Billy Fung who disclosed the Council’s deliberations.
“His action shows his complete disregard and disrespect for the Council’s requirements and Council members’ pledge of confidentiality,” Leong said. “This is detrimental to free discussions and the exchange of views at Council meetings.”
“The Council will consider possible sanctions,” Leong added.
Edward Leong Che-hung is also the Chairperson of the Standard Working Hours Committee. He just wrapped up a press conference on standard working hours.
In a post titled PRC saved from deadly Johannes Chan threatHemlock writes on the Big Lychee blog:
"...Chan himself and other key figures are reluctant to publicly call this a Chinese Communist Party hijacking of the university's internal affairs."
"The message is supposed to be: avoid incorrect political movements and ideas, or your career will suffer. Maybe some academics scrambling for research grants or tenure will succumb, unnoticed by the rest of us. Otherwise, this episode can only provoke yet more anti-Beijing sentiment within Hong Kong and suspicion about China abroad."
On Commercial Radio HK, Lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said that the HKU Alumni Concern Group will be hosting a forum to discuss the HKU Council's decision to reject the appointment of Johannes Chan. Council chairman Edward Leong Che-hung agreed to attend on Tuesday before the meeting.
Photo: HKU Convocation
Chinese nationalistic newspaper Global Times has joined Hong Kong pro-government newspapers in slamming Chan, whom they claim was an Occupy Central "ringleader". The result of the anonymous vote reflected "the will of the people", the paper said.
- Council member Rosanna Wong said Chan's appointment would create further splits at HKU.
- On Commerical Radio HK, Chan responded by saying he did not know if he had the ability to split HKU, and he did not know if it was him or the way the Council had handled the matter.
- Chan said he would not consider filing a judiciary review against the Council’s decision now, as this would hurt HKU further, but he does believe there are grounds for a judicial review.
- Although pro-Beijing newspapers had linked Chan to the Occupy protests, he said he was teaching in the US during the period.
- Council member Arthur Li Kwok-cheung was widely rumoured to be the chairman of the Council, when the incumbent Edward Leong’s term ends in November. Chan said that he did not know Council member Arthur Li Kwok-cheung well, and that although he was well qualified for the position, his performance in the last few months in the Council was worrying.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students has issued a statement criticising the HKU Council decision.
It said, “the Hong Kong Communist administration has brazenly invaded Hong Kong’s higher education, that political suppression of academia is now a fact”.
“In the current abnormal formation of the HKU Council, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying can appoint many people in his camp as Council members, to manipulate appointments of officials, administrative arrangement and approach of teaching in HKU... Such a colonial system is a humiliation to the spirit of university until it is abolished.”
“In the current abnormal formation of the HKU Council, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying can appoint many people in his camp as Council members, to manipulate appointments of officials, administrative arrangement and approach of teaching in HKU... Such a colonial system is a humiliation to the spirit of university until it is abolished.”
Last night, HKU students held a vigil. They chanted: "Defend institutional autonomy", "Defend academic freedom", "Oppose the unreasonable decision of the Council" and "Defend the University of Hong Kong."
HKU law professor Michael Davis said on RTHK Radio 3 this morning that he does not think the University of Hong Kong Alumni Concern Group has grounds for a judicial review. However, "Johannes Chan may have grounds for judicial review as he has standing, and he's the one affected," Davis said.
- HKU Council members said Chan's conduct was questionable as they accused him of spreading news that he had become a candidate for the postion of Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
- On Commercial Radio this morning, Chan said Wen Wei Po – a pro-Beijing newspaper – was first to reveal news of his recommendation by the HKU’s selection committee, in November 2014.
Hong Kong University Students’ Union responded last night with the following demands:
1. All Council members shall report and explain their choices of votes.
2. All twelve members who cast vote against the appointment shall resign from their positions.
3. Leong Che-hung shall be accountable for the issue and step down, resigning from the position of the Chairperson of the Council. He shall also apologise for his mistakes in the Council.
4. The University shall promise a review to the composition of the Council and increase the proportion of university members.
2. All twelve members who cast vote against the appointment shall resign from their positions.
3. Leong Che-hung shall be accountable for the issue and step down, resigning from the position of the Chairperson of the Council. He shall also apologise for his mistakes in the Council.
4. The University shall promise a review to the composition of the Council and increase the proportion of university members.
They also wrote on their page: "In view of such injustice and unfairness, the Hong Kong University Students’ Union strongly denounces these traitors in the Council. We shall also seek legal advice and apply for judicial review in order to restore justice to this institution."
Speaking earlier on Commercial Radio HK, Johannes Chan Man-mun responded to the reasons given by HKU Council members for blocking his appointment as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Staffing and Resources):
- Arthur Li, Kwok-cheung, a member of the Executive Council and formerly Secretary for Education and Manpower said Chan does not have a PhD and has low academic achievements.
- Chan responded by saying that having a PhD was not a requirement of the position and was not related to handling academic staffing matters.
- Chan said his contribution in human rights law was related to his appointment as the first and only Honorary Senior Counsel in Hong Kong in 2003. He said there will always be more excuses not to give him the postion.
Welcome to the Hong Kong Free Press live blog.
Today we'll be bringing you updates on the fallout following Johannes Chan's rejection as pro-Vice Chancellor of HKU.
Alumni light candles to mourn ‘dark day’ for HKU as Council rejects appointment of pro-democracy scholar
Around 20 University of Hong Kong (HKU) alumni held a candlelight vigil on Tuesday to denounce the decision by university’s governing body to vote down former Faculty of Law dean Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun’s appointment as pro-vice chancellor.
The 10:00pm vigil, organised on the main campus’s Sun Yat-sen Steps shortly after the Council’s decision, was attended by notable HKU alumni such as the Civic Party’s Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and Alan Leong Kah-kit. The group held candles and spoke in turns about the decision, calling it “a dark day for HKU.”
The meeting was attended by Alan Leong and Kwok Ka-ki of the Civic Party. Photo: HKFP.
HKU alumnus Cheung Yui-fai said that “the HKU Council rejected the recommendation of the search committee and did not give logical reasons as to their reason for voting it down. If what the student representative at the Council said was true, most of the members are not qualified to be on the Council. If these people have taken control and are affecting the management of HKU, it will be disastrous for the university’s future development.”
“So even though it’s so late, we’ve all shown up at HKU after seeing the decision on the news, hoping to express our discontent… As an alumnus, this is a sad day—and a dark day for HKU. We wish to lit a candle to give hope to the future, and to defend HKU’s academic freedom and independence.”
Ip Kin-yuen speaking at the vigil. Photo: Kris Cheng/HKFP.
HKU alumni and Legislative Councillor Ip Kin-yuen also stressed the importance of institutional autonomy and academic freedom, saying that they are the things most important to the university.
“They are written down at the top of the Council’s guidelines, that they must be the core value and basis of the university. But we see tonight these two things are just ornaments that can be thrown away easily.”
“We learned from our education here; we got our independent thinking here; we earned our great futures here… Because of that we felt great sadness …We cannot understand why some people who have benefited from HKU’s education are destroying its roots.”
Deputy convenor of the HKU Alumni Concern Group Mak Tung-wing said that the Council should provide written reasons and justification for its decision, as the Council should respect a motion passed about the appointment of pro-vice chancellor at the HKU Convocation.
“The Convocation’s passed motions are not binding… but the HKU Alumni Concern Group has said, if the Council does not run fairly, transparently and responsibly, how can we have confidence?”
“This is not the end but the start of a war,” he added.
On Tuesday evening, HKU Council announced that the appointment of Professor Johannes Chan to the pro-vice chancellorship had been rejected, with 12 votes against his appointment and eight in favour.
Additional reporting: Karen Cheung
Student leader reveals HKU Council members’ reasons for blocking Johannes Chan appointment
Chairman of the University of Hong Kong’s Student Union and student representative to HKU Council Billy Fung Jing-en released a statement on Tuesday evening condemning the Council’s decision to vote down the appointment of Prof Johannes Chan Man-mun to the university’s pro-vice chancellorship.
In a move that contravened the Council’s confidentiality rules, Fung gave an account of HKU Council members’ reasoning behind their decision.
“Arthur Li Kwok-cheung criticised Prof Chan’s lack of a doctoral degree and thus his inability to serve as pro-vice chancellor…He also claimed that Prof Chan only became dean of the law faculty because he is a ‘nice guy’ and not due to his academic achievements.”
Johannes Chan’s academic credibility was further assailed by Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, who said that “Prof Chan rarely published his writings in any academic journals and was the major authors of few academic works.” Martin Liao Cheung-kong said his decision was based on the fact that Google Scholar results showed Chan’s research had only been searched for “four times in the past five years.”
File Photo: Billy Fung. Photo: Apple Daily.
According to Fung, Council members such as Leonie Ki Man-fung and Margaret Leung Ko May-yee also commented that “any applicant with such high profile should never be hired.” Rosanna Wong Yick-ming also said that “appointing Professor Chan to the position of PVC would only cause a further division of the University.”
Council member Lo Chung-mau also accused Prof Chan of “not showing sympathy when [he] fell” during an earlier Council meeting. Many also questioned Johannes Chan’s integrity.
Possible sanctions
Council chairman Edward Leong Che-hung released a statement in which he “condemn[ed] the deplorable action” by Fung in disclosing the Council’s deliberations.
“His action shows his complete disregard and disrespect for the Council’s requirements and Council members’ pledge of confidentiality,” Leong said. “This is detrimental to free discussions and the exchange of views at Council meetings.”
“The Council will consider possible sanctions,” Leong added.
File Photo: Johannes Chan. Photo: HKFP.
Threats to academic freedom
Responding to the decision, Prof Chan thanked his supporters. “As I have said many times before, the issue of the appointment of the PVC is really not about me. It is about the threats to the autonomy, values and freedoms that have made HKU a world class, vibrant university, an institution that we love and are proud of.
“It is not about winning or losing. It is about challenges to our values and beliefs, our perseverance and our endurance. The appointment process has come to an end, but the decision of the Council shows that we still have a lot of work to do to preserve academic freedom and protect the autonomy of the University.”
In a meeting of the Council of the University of Hong Kong on Tuesday evening, 12 Council members voted against his appointment while eight voted in favour, thus blocking his appointment in spite of the search committee’s recommendation.
Alumni from the University of Hong Kong voted overwhelmingly in favour of confirming the recommendation of Johannes Chan to the pro-vice chancellorship in a September 1 Emergency General Meeting, with 7,821 out of 9,298 votes backing Chan’s appointment.
Additional reporting: Kris Cheng
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