A leading Hong Kong university has fired its law professor, Benny Tai, due to a criminal conviction over his role in the 2014 pro-democracy protests. Mr Tai, 56, accused the University of Hong Kong (HKU) of bowing to pressure from Beijing and said the ruling was «the end of academic freedom».
Mr Tai was one of the founders of the «umbrella protests» that paralysed Hong Kong’s business districts for weeks. Last year, a court sentenced him to 16 months in prison for his role. He was granted bail in August, pending an appeal.
The 2014 protests, which were largely peaceful, lasted for more than 70 days as people took to the streets to call for democracy. The university governing council’s decision to dismiss Mr Tai goes against a previous ruling by its senate, which said while Mr Tai had committed misconduct, there were insufficient grounds to dismiss him. The university’s ruling comes weeks after a controversial security law was passed in the city, giving China more powers there.
The law criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, but critics say that the terms are vaguely defined and the law effectively curtails Hong Kong’s freedoms.
