Historian sacked from university in Hong Kong after immigration officials decide not to renew her visa
- Former CUHK historian Rowena He Xiaoqing says officials earlier sent long list to Canadian national asking her about possible foreign government ties
- Government declines to comment on individual cases but stresses visa renewal applicants should avoid being flagged for security or criminal concerns
A history professor has been sacked by a university in Hong Kong after immigration authorities denied her a visa, with the scholar earlier questioned over whether she had ties to foreign governments.
A government spokesman on Saturday declined to comment on individual cases and said the Immigration Department handled each visa request in accordance with the relevant policies. He stressed that successful applicants should avoid being flagged for security or criminal concerns.
Rowena He Xiaoqing, a former associate professor at Chinese University’s history department, confirmed to the Post on Sunday that the institution had fired her on Friday after the department rejected her visa extension application two days before.
“The attack on me is not just an attack on myself, but an attack on intellectual freedom and an attack on honest scholarship,” she said. “It’s almost like you try to do your research, you try to do a good job as an educator, but you are being punished.”
The Canadian national began teaching at the university in 2019 after working at US institutions including Harvard University, Wellesley College and Saint Michael’s College.
