August 29, 2020
Xiang Zhang
President, The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2859 2100
Fax: (852) 2858 9435
Email: president@hku.hk
Council Chair Arthur Li Kwok-cheung
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Fax: 852-2858-2549
Dear President Xiang Zhang and Council Chair Arthur Li Kwok-cheung:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We write to express our concerns for Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a tenured legal scholar and associate professor of law whom your university has decided to remove from his position, in response to his conviction for offenses related to the 2014 “Occupy” protests.
Benny Tai Yiu-ting was sentenced in April 2019 to 16 months in prison for two minor “public nuisance” charges, but released in August of that year, pending his appeal. Despite the fact that his prosecution and sentencing were based on specious charges and amounted to clear violations of his rights to free expression and free association, the Council of the University of Hong Kong terminated his employment on July 28 of this year.
The vote was reportedly 18-2, with President Xiang Zhang choosing not to vote. As a global coalition of scientists and scholars, we are extremely disappointed in this vote, and we fear that it will set a dangerous precedent for undermining academic freedom in Hong Kong.
As fellow scholars and academics, we believe that academic freedom is vital to the functioning of a free society, and the right to freely express one’s beliefs, including in the form of large public protests as was the case in 2014, is a fundamental human right that academic institutions must protect. The importance of protecting these freedoms and rights in Hong Kong cannot be overstated.
We urge you to revisit this vote without delay, and restore Benny Tai Yiu-ting to his full teaching duties.
Thank you for your attention and willingness to help in this most important matter, and we look forward to hearing what you are doing to correct this injustice.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists