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The University of Hong Kong fired an associate law professor and pro-democracy activist who was convicted last year of public nuisance charges for his leading role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests, The New York Times reported.
The professor, Benny Tai, is appealing his conviction. The university’s senate, comprised mostly of faculty, voted earlier this month that Tai’s conduct did not merit removal, but the university’s governing body rejected that conclusion.
As the Times reported, “The university had faced widespread calls from members of the pro-Beijing establishment to dismiss Mr. Tai. But his supporters argued that dismissing him would undermine academic freedom that has already been imperiled by a new national security law imposed by Beijing.”
The university said in a statement it “had resolved a personnel issue concerning a teaching staff member” following a “stringent and impartial due process.”
Tai said in a Facebook post, “the decision to terminate my appointment was made not by the University of Hong Kong but by an authority beyond the University through its agents.”
He added, “It marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong.”
