Student and alumni petition for dismissing Junius Ho from the University Council In July 2019, a widely circulated video showed
Junius Ho shaking hands, giving thumbs-up to, and taking photos with the white-clad mob that attacked protestors and bystanders in the
2019 Yuen Long attack. Ho claimed that he was only passing by after dinner and was not involved in the attack, and that the mob supported his pro-police stances and asked for photos with him. As Ho was a member of the Council of Lingnan University, a number of student bodies and alumni associations made a joint declaration accusing him of hate speech over the years and condemning his support for the attackers, saying that it seriously affected the image of the university. They also requested Chief Executive
Carrie Lam, then-Chancellor of the university, to dismiss Ho from the Council. Afterwards, the university issued a statement emphasising its respect for
freedom of speech and that Ho's views did not represent the university.
Removal of Tiananmen relief sculpture On the night of 24 December 2021, the university removed from campus a
relief sculpture created by artist
Chen Weiming and commemorating the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The university said that it had "reviewed and assessed items on campus that may pose legal and safety risks to the University community" and had the relief "removed and stored appropriately... in the best interest of the University". Around the same time, the
University of Hong Kong and
The Chinese University of Hong Kong also removed similar Tiananmen memorial monuments from their campuses. Chen said that "it is a major regret", and that the university authorities "acted like a thief in the night" and "were very scared that the removal of the monuments would spark public outcry". == Notable alumni ==