CUHK split on council changes

More than 1,000 Chinese University alumni have signed a petition objecting to a Legislative Council bill that proposes to downsize the university council. The signatories include Nicholas Kwan Ka-ming, the deputy head of the Chief Executive's Policy Unit.

The amendment bill is proposed by Tommy Cheung Yu-yan of the Liberal Party, Bill Tang Ka-piu of the Federation of Trade Unions and Edward Lau Kwok-fan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, who are all university council members.

It suggested that member numbers be cut from 54 to 33, with alumni seats reduced from three to one. Legco representatives would remain at three.

Cheung said last month that he had reached consensus with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on the need for CUHK council reform.

Asked whether it was appropriate for Kwan to sign the petition against the revamp plan, the Policy Unit said it was Kwan's personal affair.

Lau Siu-kai, a member of the Policy Unit Expert Group, said the government had not announced a clear stance on the bill, so there was no conflict of interest between Kwan and the bill.

"The arguments between CUHK council members are only about the details of the bill, and do not have much impact on society. Currently there is no need for the government to intervene," said Lau.

The petitio - launched by three alumni who are university council members, Kelvin Yeung Yu-ming, Enders Lam Wai-hung and Heung Shu-fai - appeals for a "win-win proposal for the CUHK council revamp," which recommended that the council seats for Legco and the alumni body should both be reduced from three to two.

The co-signing process began on Saturday, following the first closed-door meeting of a Legco bill committee on the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2023 on Friday, as the committee's chairwoman, Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, refused a public hearing request by Yeung, the leader of the university's statutory alumni body. She said "open discussions could turn into personal attacks."

The Bills Committee will meet tomorrow to scrutinize the proposed bill, while the CUHK council will have a special meeting on Tuesday.