HKU president fighting series of 'slanderous claims'

University of Hong Kong's governing council adjourned a special meeting yesterday over a series of mismanagement allegations against president Zhang Xiang.

It is understood that the special meeting has been reset to Monday.

The meeting was initially scheduled for 3pm yesterday but postponed to 5pm before it was eventually called off due to a lack of quorum, sources said.

Zhang issued a statement shortly after midnight yesterday, denying the allegations and saying the "rumors constitute serious defamation."

Sources said Zhang had sent a legal letter to the council to adjourn the meeting for four to six weeks, and that he would attend with his lawyer.

Zhang, the president and vice chancellor since 2018, said in the statement that he requested a postponement so he could have adequate time to understand all the facts and background and seek legal advice.

He said someone in the council has "continued to slander" him and the university and leaked confidential information to outsiders one hour after he sent an e-mail to the council to adjourn the meeting.

"I feel extremely regretful that the confidential information, which only members of the council can receive, has been leaked in an instant," he said.

Members of the council, meanwhile, launched a petition last night, pushing for the disclosure of all internal documents and establishing an investigation committee and an open proceeding for the allegations against Zhang.

The university issued a point-by-point response to all the allegations.

These included Zhang requesting the university to transfer a scholarship donation by a mainland enterprise to "The University of Hong Kong Strategic Development Fund," which is under the control of the president's office, instead of saving it in the university's bank account.

It is understood that in September last year Zhuhai-based laser printer maker Ninestar suggested donating 10 million yuan (HK$10.87 million) to the university for scholarship funding for mainland students. Ninestar was sanctioned by the United States in June over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

The first installment of 8.5 million yuan was disbursed to 49 mainland undergraduate students in the first half of the year, while the disbursement of the remaining 1.5 million yuan was still under review.

An anonymous complaint to the council said the university received the 8.5 million yuan in April this year. But the students had already received the scholarship via other funding sources last September.

Since the donation had a special purpose as a student scholarship, the fund was not saved in the bank account of the president's office.

An HKU spokesman said the donation complies with Hong Kong and mainland laws and said the allegation of "money laundering" is "totally untrue and constitutes a serious defamation of the university, donors and related organizations."

Another allegation said the university hired two US headhunter agencies without tendering to recruit the university's vice president and the medical dean.

HKU's Human Resources Office said in an internal document in May last year that the medical dean candidates should have experience in leading a US tertiary institute to make the HKU medical school a global top school.

It is understood that Zhang chairs the selection committee, and the medical school's interim dean Lau Chak-sing is among the two final candidates for the new medical dean.

A member of the university council told the media that the hiring of the medical dean has made it look like university management "only appoints cronies."

The third allegation involved the renovation project at HKU's senior common room, which comprises three restaurants that are only open to senior staff.

The university allocated HK$5.5 million for the project in June 2021 but the anonymous complainant alleged the senior common room should be self-financed and should have undergone tendering procedures as other canteens in the university.

The HKU spokesman said the senior common room had not been renovated for more than 30 years and the facilities were dilapidated, adding the renovation project had undergone purchasing and tendering procedures according to guidelines.

Zhang was also accused of replacing the president's vehicle with a BMW he favored without bidding. The vehicle cost over HK$2 million.

Casey Chik Yau-hong, a representative of undergraduate students, called on the council to handle the issue as soon as possible and form an investigation committee for the incident.

Chik said he was among council members who received internal documents from a "whistleblower" accusing Zhang and university officers of alleged mismanagement of university property.

"If the accusations are true, such disregard for the university's system will seriously damage the reputation and interests of the university community and may incur criminal and civil liabilities on the part of the university or the president and vice chancellor," Chik said. "The council, as the supreme governing body of the university, is duty-bound to act."

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu yesterday said he believed the university can deal fairly with any complaints under the existing mechanism. "What is important is that things should be handled by the established procedures," he added.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com