Customarily the HKU Council accepts the recommendations of search committees for senior posts, with no prior recommendation having been rejected by the council in the university's history.
Chan's appointment delayed The university initiated a worldwide search for five pro-vice-chancellors in mid-2014. Two of them, Ian Holliday and Douglas So, were appointed in November 2014. Another two, Andy Hor and John Kao, were appointed in March 2015 to commence employment in September 2015. The sole candidate for position of pro-vice-chancellor (academic staffing and resources), recommended by unanimity, was Johannes Chan. The news of the selection committee's recommendation was broken by
Wen Wei Po in a feature report "in the best interest of the public" even before the HKU council had been informed of the selection. Chan then became the target of a concerted attack by
Wen Wei Po and
Ta Kung Po for his academic record.
Wen Wei Po, citing from a leaked University Grants Commission report, stated that Chan's academic record on research was not up to international standards while he was dean of the law school. The journal accused Chan of being so busy with politics that he neglected research. According to an article by Kevin Lau in
Ming Pao, parties close to the government applied pressure on committee members behind the scenes to block Chan's appointment. Chief executive
Leung Chun-ying was reported to have telephoned members of the committee to persuade them to vote against Chan's appointment, CY Leung's lieutenant Fanny Law, who was found to have interfered with institutional autonomy in 2007 whilst serving as education secretary, categorically denied having intervened. Leung also denied allegations he intervened in the selection. However,
i-Cable and
South China Morning Post subsequently revealed that CY Leung had convened at least three meetings with Peter Mathieson within four months during the period the decision was being deferred. On one occasion, Leung allegedly met Mathieson with HKU council chairman Leong Chee-hung and education secretary Eddie Ng. Although Ng said he had no recollection of the meeting, the
Office of the Chief executive did not deny that such a meeting had taken place. The council was criticised when it repeatedly deferred the decision to appoint Chan, stating that it should wait until a new provost was in place. The decision was repeatedly delayed through votes on 30 June and 28 July. Just after the council voted down a motion to stop delaying the appointment at the latter meeting, dozens of students rushed into the conference room in protest. Online videos appeared to show Lo fainting or falling on his own. The students' storming of the conference was denounced by vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson, as well as the ten university deans who issued a statement urging "all parties to put the interest of the university first" and expressing conviction in the guarantee of academic freedom and university autonomy by the
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 137. Though he tendered his resignation on 3 July, Arokiaraj remained on the council so that the position was not left vacant while a replacement is found. Respected microbiologist
Yuen Kwok-yung, considered a "neutral party" in the controversy, also resigned following the incident. He criticised both the students and the university governance, stating that he was "incapable of dealing with the politics in the university council". He dismissed Arthur Li's likening of the students to Red Guards, stating that the behaviour of the Hong Kong students was not as serious. By the end of July an alumni concern group had collected more than 3,000 signatures demanding the council stop delaying the decision. It was signed by numerous legislators and HKU alumni including
Ip Kin-yuen,
Sin Chung-kai,
Alan Leong,
Tanya Chan,
Audrey Eu,
Paul Zimmerman,
Joseph Wong,
Anson Chan,
Andrew Wong, and others. Mathieson complained that he and others who had backed the appointment of Johannes Chan as pro-vice-chancellor had been subjected to "orchestrated" pressure by some political elements, his personal emails having been hacked and some of it published in pro-Beijing media.
HKU alumni non-binding vote On 1 September 2015 the HKU Convocation, a body of more than 162,000 alumni and faculty, convened an Extraordinary General Meeting at the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to hold a vote on the issue. Audit firm
BDO International was hired to independently count the votes. Of 9,298 votes cast, 7,821 alumni voted to support the recommendation of Chan to the post, although the motion would not be binding on the university council. Another motion that called for the council to confirm the appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor within 30 days of committee recommendation got overwhelming support. The convocation conveners sent the results to the university council with the expectation that the result would put greater pressure on the council to consider the wishes of alumni. At the suggestion of a council member, all phones had been taken away and sealed in envelopes for the duration of the meeting to prevent anyone leaking information to the media. During the meeting, dozens of protesters from two pro-Beijing groups stood outside the venue and denigrated Chan as "incompetent". Psychology professor Terry Kit-Fong Au was appointed acting pro-vice-chancellor in January 2016 and to the regular position in May 2016.
Billy Fung disclosures Billy Fung, attending the meeting as president of the Hong Kong University Students' Union, stated that some council members said Chan was not qualified to be pro-vice-chancellor because he lacked a doctorate degree, and quoted member Arthur Li as stating that Chan may have been appointed dean of law simply because he is a "nice guy"; Lo Chung-mau complained that Chan had not shown him enough sympathy after he fell down during the meeting of 28 July. HKU Council chairman
Edward Leong called Fung's leak a "deplorable action", accusing him of using "dishonest means to achieve his aim". He said that if the council discussions were open, it would discourage free discussion. Three council members, including Ki, had spoken against Chan for making a high-profiled claim that he was the only candidate, whereas in fact the revelations were made only after a highly placed source leaked the fact to
Wen Wei Po. Education professor Li Hui said that Fung was "too young" to understand what is fair. William Cheung, president of the HKU Academic Staff Association, stated that he was "proud of Fung for speaking up for righteousness".
Audio recordings leaked A recording of the proceedings was obtained by
Commercial Radio Hong Kong, which then broadcast excerpts of the discussions in late October featuring Arthur Li and Leonie Ki that confirmed the relevant parts of Billy Fung's accounts. The university, citing breach of confidentiality, sought and obtained an interim court order banning the radio station and "persons unknown" from publishing material from the confidential meetings; council chairman Edward Leong said the court order was sought to "protect the dignity of HKU." Prominent lawyers, however, said that no crime had been committed, and that any attempt to prosecute the leaker would fail. One senior legal academic criticised the council for wasting police resources. Commercial Radio (CR) reached an agreement with HKU on 5 November undertaking not to air any other content of the council's past or future meetings unless these had already been reported by other media, meaning compliance with the terms of the interim injunction obtained by the university a few days earlier. The presiding High Court judge expressed reservations that Leong, on behalf of HKU, was seeking a "perpetual injunction on all meetings, future, past, and present". While CR's lawyer said agreement to comply with the court order did not imply that the station is compromising on press freedom, Hong Kong Journalists Association expressed disappointment at the broadcaster's decision. Pundits suggested that CR was bowing to political pressure as its broadcasting licence was up for renewal next year. The university insisted that the radio broadcaster must disclose the source of the leaked recording, which CR vowed it would never do, while a legal expert noted that privacy was not on equal footing with the freedom of information, and that legislation protecting whistleblowers was lacking in Hong Kong. At a court hearing on 6 November, the court extended the injunction to 24 November, but reduced its scope. It covers "persons unknown" who possess information about the five HKU council meetings held between June and October only. While HKU sought to adjourn the case, other interested parties – a legislator the HK Journalists Association,
Apple Daily, and two HKU law student (one of whom being chief editor of HKU student magazine
Undergrad) – joined the case seeking to have it dismissed outright. The blanket protection for future council meetings no longer applied. A sound recording apparently featuring the speech of
Rosanna Wong against Chan at the council meeting was posted to a discussion forum in Taiwan on 8 November. The poster said that the despite the cordial tones of the
meeting between
Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou and
CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, this episode ought to serve as a reminder to all Taiwan people that what is happening in Hong Kong could easily happen to Taiwan. Wong, who was university classmates with Chan at the London School of Economics, urged the council to avoid the potential controversy and not to appoint Chan because of his "strong political position" and fears that "he probably would further divide". == Reaction ==