CUHK president's failure has let down the city

There is certainly plenty to be learned from Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, the vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), of what not to do and how not to be. Sadly, he is the example of a bad teacher and an unsure leader of what used to be a sterling academic institution.

As the head of CUHK, he has singlehandedly allowed the reputable institution to slide into an abyss of despair and destruction.

How could he not have noticed the campus of CUHK being turned into a huge manufacturing base of gasoline bombs and a range of other deadly weapons? The illegal activities must have gone on for days, if not weeks, right under his nose, as well as those of his senior management staff.

In addition to that, Tuan and other university heads have failed to notify police about what has been taking place within their respective institutions, and that has amounted to a gross dereliction of duty — one that is certainly severe enough to call for dismissals.

In a joint open letter issued by the nine university presidents, which was penned by Tuan, there were a number of police-bashing remarks that accused the police of using improper and disproportionate violence against students, but neglected to mention the violent acts of the students and others who used their campuses to disrupt the lives of Hong Kong people. Tuan, on behalf of other university heads, asked the police to make a clarification on the matter.

Tuan is nothing short of an embarrassment among university heads because besides his inaction and being incompetent, he has gone one step further by condoning and supporting his students’ illegal and violent activities.

Back in 2014, The Undergrad, the official publication of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union, published articles advocating Hong Kong independence. Instead of clamping down on such provocative thinking, its university leadership defended it in the name of academic freedom and freedom of speech.

Now Tuan is repeating the same mistake and even accelerating the damage to Hong Kong’s stability and societal safety by being cowed by the violent forces of students and outside gangsters. He even went along to the No 2 bridge leading to CUHK to practically endorse the violent protesting students last week. Now the once-tranquil CUHK campus has become the flashpoint of political violence and rioting.

Tuan has done everything unbecoming of a university president. He even sided with students and attempted to stop the police from carrying out their law enforcement duties.

As the head of CUHK, he must be reminded that a member of his teaching staff was arrested on charges of murdering his wife and daughter. Likewise, if a student has broken the law, he or she should be arrested and dealt with according to the law.

A good teacher knows there are times when educating students could go beyond the hands of the teachers or the school. When a student — or any individual for that matter — has committed a crime, they should be dealt with by the legal system and be re-educated by the correctional services.

There have been alarming reports of CUHK students using their campus to produce homemade gasoline bombs. Some students even practiced throwing these bombs on campus. Needless to say, the campus has suffered a great deal of fire damage.

Tuan was reported to have visited students and witnessed their acts but said nothing, and his inaction not only condones such behavior, but makes him complicit in the violence.

When questioned about his actions, or rather inaction, he defended himself by saying it was an internal matter of the university rather than a criminal matter.

I also would like to remind Tuan and CUHK students that the No 2 bridge entrance they occupied for days is in fact the property of the government, which allows the CUHK to use it as an entrance link, and not as the site for throwing obstacles to disrupt fast-moving traffic on the highway below.

Police should be allowed to enter the campus via the No 2 bridge entrance and carry out their duty whenever a crime is committed or if there is a potential breakdown of law and order.

By accepting the post as the head of CUHK, Tuan has the sole responsibility of protecting the interests of the university such as building up its reputation and academic excellence.

Sadly, Tuan is doing the exact and extreme opposite. It all comes down to a lack of commitment, or worse, a lack of courage to lead and defend in times of political challenge, which has become part of daily life in Hong Kong.

As a leader, he is incompetent, while as an individual, he lacks integrity and courage because he has chosen to bow to pressure and violence from the students, to whom he should be setting a far better example.

He is more suited to and therefore should return to his role as a medical researcher and bioengineer instead of pocketing a huge HK$7 million ($895,000) annual salary. The additional compensation that he gets compared to a professor is for his management and leadership duties. He may be a distinguished academic and scientist, but he certainly is a huge disappointment as a leader and has shirked his duties as an educator.

The extent of reputational damage caused to CUHK in the past few weeks has utterly destroyed the work its faculty and students have done over the past 50 years in building up its institutional standing on a global scale. Tuan’s record has now been tainted for the rest of his academic career — or at least what is left of it.

When the university heads issued the open letter laying the blame solely on the police and the government, they ought to ask themselves this: Did they not embolden the students by sitting on the hands for too long in the first place?

The letter irresponsibly asked society and government to handle the consequences, but what about them as university leaders?

Five years ago, in the midst of the “umbrella” protests, these same university leaders allowed students to bring in yellow umbrellas during their graduation. Most recently, these same leaders also permitted students to use campuses as their political platforms and wear masks and helmets at graduation in place of a mortarboard. Now as a result of their unwarranted tolerance, they have given more students, including those at CUHK, carte blanche.

The more Tuan gives in to students, the more they will wreak havoc across the city. And if Tuan still has an ounce of moral courage, he should resign before more damage is done to CUHK and Hong Kong.

Our city may already appear to be at a breaking point, but there is still plenty more damage to be done before Hong Kong goes beyond the point of no return, and I’m afraid we are already sitting on the precipice.

The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a local think tank.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.