Hopefully, time will tell on HKU probe

A panel set up by the University of Hong Kong's council is not expected to finish until year-end an investigation into vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang in connection to various mismanagement claims, including the handling of a donation from a US-sanctioned Chinese firm.

An outstanding question is: will HKU be able to emerge unscathed and start 2024 afresh?

Perhaps. Nonetheless, it is certain that HKU - the most prestigious local higher education institute - has already been hurt by the row.

Unless the panel can demonstrate to the public that it can handle the matter in an open, just and impartial manner and clarifies every doubt, the fiasco could continue to haunt HKU.

If another row brewing over Chinese University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi has been an after effect of the 2019 anti-government protests, the one engulfing HKU is totally different as it does not involve a yellow-blue color divide.

The two main characters at the front - namely, Zhang and council chair Priscilla Wong Pui-sze - are typical figures of the pro-Beijing establishment.

Despite speculation that both the vice-chancellor and council chair have been at odds with each other, such talk should have no place to play in the probe, which must be evidence based.

The panel has been given 12 weeks to complete the investigation and report its findings to the council.

This is plausibly the internal procedure that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu referred to when he expressed confidence that HKU could handle the incident through its internal complaints mechanism.

Although politicians are known for their animal instinct to pounce on the wounded for a share of the prey, lawmakers appear to have been rather low-key on the current fiasco rocking HKU.

Top government officials have been of the view that what is happening between Zhang and the university council is an internal matter - a storm in a teacup - and that it would be best to leave it to the university to resolve through existing internal procedures after officials failed to bridge the gap between the two sides earlier.

Lawmakers have reportedly been reminded to avoid taking advantage of the row with new comments on the matter.

This may explain the extraordinary silence right now.

The anonymous whistle-blower who made the complaint has alleged a number of things, including the purchase of a HK$2 million BMW limousine for Zhang's use, the international recruitment of a new dean for the medical school and the acceptance of a 10 million yuan donation from Shenzhen-based laser printer maker Ninestar, which is being sanctioned by the US for using alleged Uyghur forced labor.

Zhang, who has received support from notables including this year's Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry Fraser Stoddart, has denied all allegations directed at him and hired a lawyer to fight the case.

Although it is uncommon for a university employee to enlist a legal representative in an internal probe, the vice-chancellor's right to hire one should not be disputed.

Meanwhile, Ninestar is also contesting the sanction against it in the US.

It is likely that the row will have cooled down considerably by the time the probe is finished.