Occupy ringleader Shiu Ka-chun accuses Hong Kong university of ‘political cleansing’ after he is relieved of teaching post
- Pro-democracy legislator removed from classroom by Baptist University as it launches disciplinary proceedings
- Shiu was jailed last year for his part in 2014 protest movement
Pro-democracy legislator Shiu Ka-chun has been relieved of his teaching post at Baptist University after being jailed for his role in the 2014 Occupy protest.
The university has launched disciplinary proceedings against the department of social work lecturer, who served almost six months in prison last year after being found guilty of two public nuisance charges.
On Friday, Shiu accused the university of “political cleansing”, given his pro-democracy beliefs, and questioned why the university had acted while he was in the process of appealing his conviction.
According to a letter sent by Professor Adrian Bailey, the dean of social sciences, Shiu was relieved of his teaching duties “pending the result of [the] investigation”.
In the letter, Bailey writes: “It came to the Faculty’s attention that on 9 April 2019, you were convicted of charges by the District Court. The Faculty has set up an internal inquiry panel according to the University’s disciplinary procedures … The panel will invite you to come to meet with them at a later stage as required in the process.
“Given that the panel needed time to complete the review of your case, you will be relieved from any teaching duties pending the result of the investigation.”
The letter goes on to say that Shiu would perform other work assigned by the head of his department, Professor Petrus Ng.
Bailey is to lead the investigation as part of a five-member panel, which also includes Ng, plus the university’s vice-president Andy Lee Shiu-chuen, personnel director Jennifer Leung, and Professor Chung Pak-kwong, the associate dean of social sciences.
In a statement, Baptist University said that it had been decided Shiu was “not suitable for carrying out his teaching duties, while he was neither dismissed nor suspended”.
Citing privacy concerns, it said it could not discuss whether Shiu would continue to be paid a full salary while the investigation took place.
One of Shiu’s fellow Occupy ringleaders, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, also faces an internal investigation by his employer, the University of Hong Kong, which is to determine if the associate professor of law should be fired.
Tai was sentenced to 16 months in jail last April over two public nuisance charges in relation to the civil disobedience movement of 2014, however, the university's investigation comes despite an appeal from the scholar over his criminal convictions.
The Occupy protests of 2014 brought several parts of the city to a standstill for 79 consecutive days as protesters sought greater democracy.
