Hong Kong’s Han Academy says teacher salaries in jeopardy in appeal for aid
Founding supervisor says school has run out of money in letter seeking help on social media
The founding supervisor of a debt-ridden independent school in Hong Kong has made an open appeal for urgent financial support, saying the academy is struggling to pay its teachers on time as cash flow has run out.
Han Academy in Wong Chuk Hang has been embroiled in controversy after police received reports from at least 14 parents accusing the private school of failing to refund debentures, with the unsettled amount totalling HK$8.6 million (US$1.1 million).
“As a result of the successive disasters, the Han Academy team has now run out of money and is struggling to pay teacher salaries on time, making it difficult for the team to maintain operations,” supervisor Xu Li wrote in an open letter.
“We are writing to you to ask for help: we sincerely request you to provide spiritual, political, and financial support to the Han Academy to save the Han in times of crisis.”
Xu’s appeal, titled “A letter seeking help from Han Academy”, was posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book”.
Xu told the Post that the school had delayed paying HK$2.5 million in salaries to 49 staff members since November, but would aim to send the cheques by Friday.
