University Of Hong Kong
University Of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong was founded in 1911 when Governor Sir Frederick proposed to establish a university in Hong Kong to compete with the other Great Powers opening universities in China, most which had just opened University in Shanghai. The colonial Hong shared British values and allowed Britain to expand its influence in southern China and consolidate its rule in Hong Kong.[citation needed]Indian businessman Sir H learned of plan and pledged to $150,000 towards the construction and $30,000 towards other costs.[12] The Hong Kong Government and the business sector in southern China, which were both equally eager to learn "secrets of the West's success" (referring to technological advances made since the Industrial Revolution), also gave their support. The government contributed a site at West Point; Group also contributed £40,000 to endow a chair in Engineering, and thousands of dollars in equipment. The aim was partly to bolster its corporate image following the death of a passenger on board one of its ships, , and the subsequent unrest stirred by the Self-Government Society.[13] Along with other donors including the British government and companies such as HSBC,finally had enough to fund the building of the university.Following the Second World War, the university reopened and underwent structural developments as post-war reconstruction efforts began in earnest, requiring more investment in law and social sciences. The Faculty of Social Sciences was established in 1967 and the Law Department in 1969. The student population in 1961 was 2,000, four times more than in 1941.In 1982, the Faculty of Dentistry, based at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, was established. It remains to this day Hong Kong's only faculty training dental professionals. In 1984, both the School of Architecture and School of Education became fully-fledged faculties, and in the same year a of Law was created. The Faculty of Business and Economics was established in 2001 as the university's tenth and youngest faculty.After 1989, the Hong Kong government began local tertiary education, retaining many local students who would have studied abroad in the United Kingdom. In preparation for the 1997 handover, it also greatly increased student places and course variety. Consequently, by 2001 the student population had grown to 14,300 and over one hundred degree courses were available to students.The year 2001 marked the 90th anniversary . Growing with Hong Kong and its Graduates – The First 90 Years was published by the Hong Kong University Press in 2002 as an impact study Hong Kong.In January 2006, despite protest from some students and various alumni, the Faculty of Medicine was renamed as the Li Faculty of Medicine "as a recognition of the generosity" of Li and his foundation, who pledged billion in support of the university "general development as well as research and academic activities in medicine".[citation needed]On 16 August 2011 Communist Party of China Vice Premier Li began a three-day visit to promote development between Hong Kong and mainland China.[17][18] The university was locked down and mishandled by the local police force causing the Hong Kong 818 incident.[19] In a statement to the community, the university's 14th Vice-Chancellor, Professor La, admitted that the security arrangements could have been better planned and organised, and to the university's students and alumni for not having been able to prevent the incident. He assured them that "the University campus belongs to students and teachers, and that it will always remain a place for freedom of expression".[20] On 30 August 2011, the university's Council resolved to set up a panel to review issues arising from the State leader's visit, to improve arrangements and establish policies for future university events that is consistent with its commitment to freedom of expression.From 2010 to 2012, the university held celebrations to mark its 100th anniversary. It marked the opening of the Centennial Campus at the western end of the university site in .[21] The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (also known as Hospital), which is operated by the university, also opened in 2011.[22][23]On 10 April 2015, declared itself as the first university in the world to join , a UN initiative urging men to achieve more female rights.[24] promises that it will triple the number of female dean-level members by 2020: More than 1 out of 5 deans will be women.[25]The Council made headlines in 2015 for alleged political interference behind the selection process for a new pro-vice chancellor. A selection committee unanimously recommended the council appoint Johannes Chan to a post responsible for staffing and resources that had been left vacant for five years.[26] Chan, the former dean of the Faculty of Law, is a distinguished scholar in constitutional law and human rights and "a vocal critic on Hong Kong’s political reform issues".[27][28]Owing to his liberal political stance, Chan has been roundly by Communist Party-controlled media including Wen Wei Po, Ta and Global Times, which together published at least 350 articles attacking him.[26][29][30][31]Customarily the Council accepts the recommendations of search committees for senior posts, with no prior recommendation having been rejected by the council.[27][32][33] The council was when it delayed the decision to appoint Chan, stating that it should wait until a new provost was in place. Finally, in September 2015, the council rejected Chan's appointment (12 votes to eight) through an anonymous vote in a closed meeting, providing no reason for the decision.[26] Political interference was widely suspected and the opacity of the council .[32]The decision is seen widely viewed as a pro-government act of retaliation against "pro-democracy leaders and participants" and a blow to academic freedom.[27][32]Six members of the council are directly appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, who acts as chancellor of all publicly funded tertiary institutions in the territory.[34] Five members are delegates to the National People’s Congress in Beijing and, as such, are obliged to toe the Communist Party line or risk expulsion.[35] In overall Council makeup, university students and staff are outnumbered by members from outside the university.[35]The decision was decried by student groups including the Hong Kong University Students’ Union and Hong Kong Federation of Students, faculty members, leading international law scholars, and legislators.[26][35][35][36][37] They noted that the decision would serve as a warning to other academics not to engage in pro-democratic politics and would severely tarnish Hong Kong's reputation for academic freedom and education excellence.[33][37] The law faculty also refuted the allegations against Chan.[38][39] Billy , student union president, revealed details of the discussion to the public and was subsequently expelled from the council.[40]