Mainland professor leaves HKBU expert panel two days after appointment

The Hong Kong Baptist University said professor Song Erwei will no longer serve on its expert committee of the new medical school proposal starting today.

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the university said Song no longer participates in its expert advisory committee -- two days after his appointment.

HKBU said it invited Song, president of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, in the hope of learning from his clinical practice knowledge and experience.

“Due to professor Song’s heavy duties, he finds it difficult to balance all his responsibilities and has thus resigned from the expert advisory committee,” the university said.

“After thorough communication and on the basis of mutual understanding and respect, the university reached a consensus with professor Song that he will no longer participate in the committee’s related work as of January 15,” it added.

This came after Song’s appointment triggered dissatisfaction on social media, with some citing previous incident that at least three people who worked or studied in a Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University laboratory related to him were diagnosed with rare cancer within a short period in 2023.

Some also questioned his academic integrity as Song’s high-school son published three SCI journals with the help of Song’s student, who was also in charge of running the lab.

(Wallis Wang)