Big names including ex-security chief Ambrose Lee join chorus of criticism against Hong Kong university students

Hong Kong’s former security secretary Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong and legislators past and present were among 103 University of Hong Kong alumni who described as “uncivilised” the storming of an HKU meeting last week by students upset with the delayed appointment of a liberal scholar.

The 103 alumni, who also included former legislator Miriam Lau Kin-yee and current lawmaker Elizabeth Quat, said in a letter published in newspapers on Wednesday that they supported academic freedom at the university and respected all members of HKU’s governing council.

But they strongly rejected the use of any violence or “uncivilised means” to express opinions, according to the letter.

Lau, former chairwoman of the Liberal Party and a 1968 HKU graduate, said she backed freedom of speech for everyone, but added students should know there was a protocol for everything.

“Hong Kong is a civilised place,” she told the South China Morning Post. “Even if you disagree with official actions, you cannot do this, especially not HKU students, which is a group I count myself a member of.”

Eastern district councillor Choy So-Yuk, a 1974 graduate, echoed those sentiments.

Choy said the HKU council had delayed its decision over the vacancy of pro-vice-chancellor because of issues that some alumni had with former law dean Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, who was said to have been recommended for the job.