Professor Johannes Chan, the 'meddle' man at centre of HKU row
Accused professor came up with reform compromise and was big on mainland academic links
At the University of Cambridge in Britain last week, Johannes Chan Man-mun appeared relaxed, cracking jokes with students while delivering a speech on "one country, two systems", the rule governing Hong Kong's relationship with the mainland, and a subject he has studied for years.
Chan, dean of law at the University of Hong Kong until last year, showed no sign that the recent ferocious attack from the leftist press had stung him.
Well-known for his moderate political stance, even some pro-establishment figures balked at the campaign mounted against him by Beijing-friendly . The newspaper blasted Chan for "meddling in politics" and claimed the HKU law school had seen a deterioration in the quality of its research during his 12 years at the helm, citing the results of an assessment exercise which has yet to be published.
The campaign endured two weeks - with three pages criticising Chan on day one alone - and seemed aimed at blocking his expected appointment to a top managerial position at HKU.
A government adviser then admitted discussing with certain people Chan's suitability for the post of pro-vice-chancellor.
When asked what he would do if he was not selected for the job, Chan, 56, told the : "It doesn't matter. Few academics go into universities for administrative jobs. I just want to make a contribution."
