HKU Council votes to fire Benny Tai over misconduct

HONG KONG - The University of Hong Kong's governing body on Tuesday approved firing associate law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting on a vote of 18-2.

The HKU Council reached the decision after holding a meeting to deliberate whether it was appropriate for Tai to continue teaching at the prestigious university in view of his involvement in several court cases.

Tai was sentenced last year to 16 months in prison on conviction of conspiracy to cause public nuisance and inciting others to cause public nuisance during the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in 2014. He was later granted bail pending his appeal.

More recently, Tai has come under fire for promoting a scheme that later morphed into calls to paralyze the SAR government by voting down all government initiatives if the opposition camp wins a majority in the September Legislative Council election. He also co-organized a controversial "primary election" for the bloc earlier this month to select candidates.

HKU said it has acted in accordance with its regulations in firing Tai.

Triggered by court judgements, the decision was made after "a proper and lengthy process" in which Tai was given a full opportunity to present his case, the university said in a statement.

The central government's Liaison Office in the SAR called the university's move a just decision that conforms to the common aspiration of the people.

Tai has orchestrated and abetted an array of illegal activities in recent years, a spokesperson for the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said in a statement.

As a criminal on bail, Tai has recently stepped up his tactics to destabilize the city, by promoting his "10-step plan for mutual destruction", and engineering the "primary" of the opposition camp, the statement read.

Tai will not rest until the SAR government is paralyzed and the city's governing power is seized, the spokesperson said.

As a teacher, Tai has exploited his position to spread his distorted ideology, including the often-cited "breaking the law to achieve justice", the spokesperson said.

Hailing the dismissal as "responsible", the spokesperson said the university has upheld the sanctity of the university's regulations and social justice.

Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying said on his social-media account that Tai can't escape the force of the law for having misled so many people, and that Tai continues to do so with his detailed plan to take the whole city down the road of destruction.

In a written response to a query by China Daily, lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan said the university's decision was overdue because Tai is not qualified to teach, given his actions over the years.

"Tai has been misleading youngsters, instigating violence, spreading hatred, and sowing discord in society," Quat said.

Tai, with such low moral standards, should have been dismissed from his job long ago, she added.

Quat also questioned Tai's attempt to manipulate the upcoming LegCo election through the "primary". The vote has damaged the election's fairness, and may have violated the new National Security Law by agitating for subversion of State power, she said.

Quat is seeking another term in the New Territories East constituency. As of Tuesday, another 14 candidates had registered in the constituency. They are: Lam Hak-lam, Chan Yuk-ngor, Wong Siu-kin, Chan Hak-kan, Lau Wing-hong, Yeung Ngok-kiu, Chan Chi-chuen, Fan Kwok-wai, Lee Tsz-king, Lam Cheuk-ting, Chiu Pui-yuk, Lee Kai-tik, Chow Ka-shing, and Ho Kwai-lam.