'I wasn't clear enough': District councillor inaccurately claims he was HKU council member in radio interview

The drama surrounding the delayed hiring for a key managerial position at the University of Hong Kong took a tall tale of a turn last week. Angry HKU staff members have drawn All Around Town's attention to an RTHK interview last week with Stephen Chan Chit-kwai, chairman of the HKU Staff Association and also a pro-establishment Central and Western district councillor. In the interview, Chan inaccurately claimed that he "used to be an HKU council member". During the interview with Chan and education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, Chan was trying to defend the existing system against Ip's accusation that the council, which has government-appointed members, had been the victim of political interference. The conversation stemmed from the unresolved effort to fill the pro-vice-chancellor position, for which former HKU law dean Johannes Chan Man-mun has been recommended but not appointed. When asked by this column whether he was misleading the audience, Stephen Chan said: "I wasn't clear enough. I meant I worked the council." Which means he had worked for two committees under it. "If RTHK wants me to clarify myself, I will definitely do it."

Liberal Party lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan says he was "happy to learn" a lot of things in his past year as the chairman of the Legislative Council's Finance Committee. At the year-end press conference yesterday, Cheung said: "I have come to understand my worst shortcomings. My wife has told me to change for many years … I have learned humility, patience, and how to control my temper." Good thing, too: Cheung oversaw the committee for a combined 180 hours in the last session - a record high - and spent much of that time enduring filibusters. After Cheung's comments his deputy, insurance sector lawmaker Chan Kin-por, was quick to say he had no interest in the job.