Exclusive | Ex-HKU law dean Johannes Chan calls for review of government’s universities role
Johannes Chan says the chief executive has too much influence over education institutions that are supposed to be politically independent
The government's role in higher education should be reviewed, embattled law professor Johannes Chan Man-mun said, after concerns emerged that the chief executive or his aides may have interfered in Chan's possible appointment as a pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Hong Kong.
Chan's comments came as lawyer Lester Huang, a member of the HKU governing body, told the South China Morning Post on Friday he had resigned within the last two weeks, but that he did not do so because of any interference.
Chan, believed to be a candidate for the position, spoke as a visiting professor at Cambridge University in Britain on Thursday night.
He did so a day after Sophia Kao Ching-chi, a top adviser to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, admitted discussing with unidentified people whether Chan was fit for the pro-vice-chancellor position. Leung's office had denied media reports that the government interfered in the selection process.
Chan refused to comment on the alleged intervention, saying he knew little about it because he had largely been away from Hong Kong since July.
But he questioned the appropriateness of the government's sway over public universities in the city.
