It's hilarious again! Hong Kong Rioters Urge Taiwan's "Academia Sinica" to Revoke HKU President Zhang Xiang's "Academician Qualifications"

Source: Global Times

[Ye Lan, special correspondent of the Global Times in Hong Kong] In view of the University of Hong Kong's recent suspension of collecting membership fees and providing financial management services for the student union, some anti-China and chaotic Elements in Hong Kong have begun to make a fuss again.

According to Taiwan's pro-green "Liberty Times" reported on the 5th, Zhou Yongkang, former secretary general of the Hong Kong "Federation of Students," Zhang Kunyang, former member of the Current Affairs Committee of the Hong Kong University Student Union, and others published an open letter on Facebook on the evening of the 4th, encouraging Taiwan's "president of the Academia Sinica" Liao Junzhi to revoke HKU President Zhang Xiang's qualification as an "academician of the Academia Sinica.". The open letter said that they were a group of participants in The Hong Kong "democracy movement" and were also graduates of HKU, and "this letter is to hope that Liao Junzhi can carefully consider withdrawing the honor of academician of the Academia Sinica awarded by HKU President Zhang Xiang in 2012 in response to the political suppression of HKU", in order to show that the "ACADEMIA" does not accept the title of "mesmerizing communist" to represent Taiwan's highest academic glory." The open letter also claimed that most of the university's management was appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive, so the school committee was full of pro-mainlanders and expelled "outspoken scholars" such as Tai Yiu-ting. During the "storm over the amendment of the law", especially after the "protesters" occupied the Legislative Council, Zhang Xiang issued an official statement condemning their actions. On the 5th, Taiwan's "Academia Sinica" responded that academicians are honorary titles for life, elected by all academicians, and related academician affairs must be discussed at the academician meeting.

Xiang Zhang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from Nanjing University and His Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied micro and nano engineering, photonics, rapid prototyping technology, and biomechanical technology. The nano-invisible materials he developed were listed in the "Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of 2008" by Time magazine in the United States, and in 2010, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for the development of the first optically perfect lens. In December 2017, Cheung was appointed as the 16th President of the University of Hong Kong for a five-year term, officially taking office in July 2018.

In July 2019, Violent elements in Hong Kong stormed the Legislative Council building, smashed the glass of the building and broke into the Interior of the Legislative Council to wreak havoc. This extreme violence has been criticized by people from all walks of life in Hong Kong society, and Zhang Xiang issued a statement saying that the destructive actions should be "condemned" and calling for rational and pragmatic efforts to resolve disputes and no longer resort to confrontation. He also made it clear that HKU opposes "Hong Kong independence" during the "You Ask Me" event for HKU graduates, and said that the university's statement should be "loud and clear". This statement was besieged by anti-China and chaotic Hong Kong elements, but it also caused many people to respond with applause.

Not long ago, HKU Provost Tsang Wing-shi wrote to all teachers and students that HKU Students' Union is a registered social organization independent of the University, and that "in order to correct the long-standing dispute between the two sides over legal responsibility, the University has decided to stop collecting membership fees, providing financial management services for the Students' Union, and taking back the management rights of the Students' Union site and other facilities after appropriate risk management assessment." The university later issued a statement criticizing the student union for its increasingly politicized behavior in recent years, repeatedly using the campus as a platform for political propaganda, publicly making inflammatory and potentially illegal remarks, making false accusations against the university, and damaging the overall interests and reputation of the university. According to the "Sing Tao Daily" reported on the 5th, the by-election of the HKU Students' Union will be held later this month. Guo Yonghao, the candidate president, said that if elected, he would not take the initiative to hold activities that had the opportunity to violate the law, and try to maintain communication with the university to balance the risk of violating the law and freedom of expression. They also acknowledge that neither universities nor student councils are in a position to overturn national security education, but want students to be involved in curriculum design.