HKU legal scholar Johannes Chan ‘lets go’ of controversy and makes peace with council chief Arthur Li
But long-time law school dean, rejected for senior managerial position at city’s oldest university, urges new vice chancellor to stand his ground
Three years after Johannes Chan Man-mun was snubbed for a top job at the University of Hong Kong, the legal scholar shook hands with the man who opposed his appointment.
At a law school event last month, he broke the ice with HKU council chairman Arthur Li Kwok-cheung. They engaged in what Chan called “courtesy calls”.
In 2015, Li openly objected to Chan’s appointment as pro-vice-chancellor at the city’s oldest university.
Li had taken issue with Chan’s lack of a PhD, a leaked recording showed, even though the scholar was the first person to be named an honorary senior counsel in the city’s legal profession. Later, Chan hit back and said Li was “not the type of person” who should be council chairman.
“It was time to let go,” the former law dean said recently. “I insisted our faculty should invite Arthur Li to the event, as we have to respect his position [as council chairman].”
“It was unpleasant to be at the centre of a saga,” Chan further recalled. “At the end of the day, this institution has to go on ... Life has to go on.”
