CUHK council lawmakers stress resignation of president Rocky Tuan a ‘personal decision’

Three lawmakers appointed to the council of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) said they respect the resignation of president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi and stressed that it was his own personal decision. 

Tuan, 72, announced yesterday (Tue) that now is an “opportune moment” for CUHK to look for a new president after the implementation of a new structure following the Legislative Council’s passage of a bill to reform the council. 

Speaking on Wednesday, lawmakers Cheung Yu-yan, Lau Kwok-fan, and Tang Ka-piu hope the university can recruit a new president to lead CUHK as soon as possible. 

Cheung, from the Liberal Party, stressed that the resignation was Tuan’s personal decision, and said: “It’s not that I did anything [to force him to step down].” 

Cheung also sidestepped questions like whether Tuan’s resignation would affect the school’s morale and if recruitment would be difficult, as he called on society not to overly make assumptions. 

Lau expects the new president will need a transition period of about six to nine months after the appointment. When asked if he felt like “winning a battle”, Lau said: “I don’t want CUHK to become a battleground.” 

Lau from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong continued that he as well as Cheung and Tang were not targeting Tuan when they tabled the reform bill to LegCo. Instead, they wanted to improve the governance of CUHK. 

The DAB lawmaker added that Tuan stepping down was different from the council firing Tuan’s right hand man and vice president Eric Ng Shu-pui; the latter was fired because he couldn’t adhere the council’s good governance principles. 

Still, Tang from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions expressed gratitude towards Tuan for leading and maintaining the university’s quality academic performances. 

Tang said the council will call a meeting very soon over recruitment and will inform the public of the necessary procedures and time.