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campusreview.com.au
HKU professor
sacked
Hong Kong university fires highprofile
professor and activist.
The University of Hong Kong has
sacked pro-democracy activist
Benny Tai, with the associate
professor of law saying it marks an end to
academic freedom in the territory.
Benny Tai. Photo: Philip Fong/AFP
The prominent campaigner was a key
figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement,
which saw tens of thousands of
residents occupy major thoroughfares in
Hong Kong’s business districts for 79 days.
Last year, a court sentenced Tai to 16
months in prison on two public nuisance
offences for his part in the pro-democracy
protests but he was released on bail,
pending an appeal.
In a statement, Tai said the decision
to terminate his employment was
made not by the university but “by an
authority beyond the university through
its agents”.
“Academic staff in education
institutions in Hong Kong are no
longer free to make controversial
statements to the general public about
politically or socially controversial matters,”
Tai wrote.
Without naming Tai, HKU said in a
statement its council "resolved a personnel
issue concerning a teaching staff member"
following "stringent and impartial
due process”.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Liaison
Office said the decision to dismiss Tai was
“an effort to maintain the normal teaching
order of the university”.
“Justice may be late, but it will never be
absent. Dai Yaoting (Tai) was fired entirely
on his own account," a spokesperson said.
Tai vowed to continue his research
and teaching in another capacity
but added he was heartbroken
to witness “the demise of my beloved
university”. ■
Former JCU professor Peter Ridd.
Photo: Cameron Laird
Ridd appeal upheld
JCU wins appeal over
academic sacking.
By AAP
A
Queensland university did not
act unlawfully when it sacked a
professor for serious misconduct, a
court has found.
James Cook University successfully
appealed an earlier finding that it
contravened the Fair Work Act when it
sacked Peter Ridd in 2018.
Intellectual freedom does not give Ridd
the right to trample on the university's code
of conduct, the Federal Court in Brisbane
said in a judgment.
The university alleged the geophysicist
had not acted "in the collegial and
academic spirit of the search for
knowledge, understanding and truth"
when he criticised a fellow researcher, the
Australian Institute of Marine Science, and
the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral
Reef Studies.
"Professor Ridd stated in the email [to
a journalist] that those two organisations
should 'check their facts before they
spin their story'," a full bench of the court
wrote of his alleged conduct before his
employment was terminated.
This was followed by an appearance on a
Sky television program with Alan Jones and
Peta Credlin, when Ridd allegedly "trashed"
JCU's work with AIMS, the ARC and the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority,
saying their scientific research could no
longer be trusted.
He later allegedly raised questions about
a colleague's participation in a conference,
saying "you wonder why he is there, it is not
like he has any clue about the weather".
JCU found Ridd had acted disrespectfully
and had also ignored orders not to
speak about the disciplinary proceedings
against him.
It said his actions were "intentionally
designed to damage the university's
reputation" shortly before letting him go.
Ridd later challenged the decision in
the Federal Circuit Court, saying he was
simply exercising his right to intellectual
freedom.
That court agreed. It found the
university's actions, including his dismissal,
were unlawful. But that decision has now
been overturned by the Federal Court
following an appeal by JCU.
It said the lower court had erred
when it found Ridd's right to intellectual
freedom trumped his obligations to
act in accordance with JCU's code
of conduct.
"It is also clear that some of the elements
of Ridd's conduct are unable to be
characterised as an exercise of intellectual
freedom," the court said. ■
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