People of the year: who mattered in higher education in 2019

I arrived in Hong Kong the year the Chinese University was founded well over half a century ago. I have watched closely and at times personally participated in its growth and steady international recognition. It therefore has been painful to helplessly watch the university's once fine reputation evaporate almost overnight when its local students this year became more and more politicized, then radicalized as acceptable levels of protest morphed into outright defiance, campus-wide hysteria, rioting and daily acts of wanton destruction against fellow students from Mainland China and sadly the much wider Hong Kong community and Government. The Vice Chancellor of the university and his fellow administrators exhibited nothing close to the mature leadership expected of them and gave-in to outrageous student behavior at every turn which of course encouraged an even greater escalation of violence and anarchy. Now at a time when The Chinese University needs to find a new, more capable Vice Chancellor who can begin to rebuild and heal this once strong educational institution, your esteemed publication decides to pat Rocky Tuan on the back and laud him for a job well done. Such a decision defies logic but probably is in part the result of the slanted and biased overseas reporting emanating from Hong Kong these past months. At the moment an undergraduate degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong holds diminished value in the eyes of potential marketplace employers. New leadership is required to rebuild confidence in the quality of education on offer at CUHK and the quality of the students seeking it .

I fully agree with duohua3_gmail_com on his/her comment. I believe the nomination of Prof. Tuan of CUHK only reflects the opinions from one side and encourages those who were very violent (including many CUHK students) in HK protests. Law applies to everybody, no matter you are the leader or the student.

duohua3 and CleverJames - Thank you for reading and for your comments. These academics were chosen because they "shaped the debate" in 2019. The short features round up major newsmakers from the past 12 months, but are not meant as some sort of awards. In Asia, the biggest news story was the Hong Kong unrest, and Professor Tuan was the most prominent academic trying to balance the terrible violence from both sides. Let's hope Hong Kong universities have a more peaceful 2020. Joyce

Dear Joyce, Did you live in HK at the time? Do you seriously think Rocky Tuan was “trying to balance the terrible violence from both sides”? By readily lapping up the false allegations of his students of sexual assault by the police in detention centres, he fanned the flames on the campus of the CU. Tuan was either a political opportunist or simply too gullible to be the head of CU. And violence on both sides? In western countries, there would have been serious casualties among the riotous students who were threw fire bombs at the police. If Rocky Tuan really “mattered” in higher education in HK in 2019, it’s only because he single-handedly brought down the CU. Shame.