Old boy back to university

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung is about to take on a new role in life at 71 after retiring from his job as chief secretary for administration in June.

He will be adjunct professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong - his alma mater - and will be involved in teaching and research among other work.

An advisory panel overseeing appointments for former politically appointed SAR officials decided there wouldn't be any conflict of interest or the likelihood of Cheung's new role sparking negative public perceptions that would be embarrassing for the administration.

Cheung had last month gone to the panel to get clearance to attend a high-table dinner and a session about population and sustainable development as a guest speaker at HKU, which didn't create bad vibes.

The advisory panel says that in deciding cases like Cheung's its members consider assessments by administration bureaus and what applicants have say about their new jobs.