University of Hong Kong refuses to strip chief executive of powers despite recommendation by review panel
Critics complain that alternative changes proposed still give city’s leader final say in HKU council appointments, as school releases long-awaited report
The university is instead considering a proposal by a working group made up of council members to have committees advise the chief executive on such matters, a plan critics claim will ultimately result in the city’s top official still having the final say.
The chief executive’s role in appointing the council chairman and members of the city’s oldest university has become a contentious issue in recent years, with some stakeholders claiming outgoing leader Leung Chun-ying had used this power to conduct political interference in university matters.
On Tuesday night, HKU released the panel’s long-awaited report and addendum, which had been submitted to the council in February.
The report, co-authored by two panel members, Professor Sir Malcolm Grant, chancellor of the University of York, and Professor William Kirby from Harvard University, recommended that the role of chancellor, which is assumed by the city’s chief executive by default, should become largely honorary.
