對傳媒的控訴

校長張翔向港大師生及校友發信，表示即使他與申作軍及宮鵬，在加州大學柏克萊分校共事，但學術領域並不一樣，除了在校園見過幾次面，在公在私並無聯絡，自己作為遴選委員會主席，已採取所有必須步驟，避免潛在衝突，又重申大學在遴選過程中，有嚴格的守則防止利益衝突。

張翔表示，過去幾日不幸地洩漏遴選過程資料，引起爭議及推測，有關傳言及憂慮不只對香港社會造成困擾，亦令人選及其家人帶來痛苦。他表示，大學有道德及法律責任，確保候選人的資料在遴選過程中保密，洩漏候選人資料，不只傷害港大的聲譽，亦影響大學未來招聘人才的工作。

他又說，自己作為大學的領導者，一直提醒要對港大及香港負責任，願意聆聽不同意見，但希望全部討論均基於事實，而非推測。

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1556957-20201027.htm

Dear Colleagues, Students and Alumni,

Appointment of Two Vice-Presidents

The University of Hong Kong is committed to attracting outstanding academic talents from around the world. Facing fierce (激烈的) competition from the world's top universities, we recruit talented individuals based on their own merits, irrespective of race, nationality, gender, place of origin, political orientation or religious belief.

You may be aware the University Council has just resolved to appoint two Vice-Presidents, Professor Max Shen of UC Berkeley as VP Research and Professor Peng Gong of Tsinghua University as VP Academic Development. They are both world-class scholars and institutional leaders. During the last few days, unfortunately, a leakage of information of the selection process has given rise to a series of controversies (and speculations 猜測) in the local media. The leakage-caused rumors and anxiety not only have caused confusion in Hong Kong society, but also caused pain to the candidates and their families.

I am sure you would agree that we have a moral and legal duty to keep the candidates' information confidential during the selection process. The leakage of personal information of a candidate would inevitably not only injure the reputation of our University, but also affect our future recruitment of talents to Hong Kong.

In the light of the recent news reports and related controversies, I am obliged (強制) to give you the relevant information so you could have a better understanding of the facts related to the key issues (my apologies for not being able to give you such information earlier as I am bound by the same confidentiality code before Council's decision).

There are some news reports on the background of Professor Max Shen. Professor Shen has written to the Council and issued a public statement in response to the news reports and related rumors. I have attached to this email his statement and also the response from his current employer, University of California at Berkeley, to the inquiries of the Hong Kong media.

There were other news reports citing an online anonymous accusation (指控) against Professor Peng Gong. Professor Gong has issued a statement to the respective media which is attached here for your reference. I have also attached messages from two prominent professors who are familiar with the incident as testimonies.

Regarding the selection process, the University has stringent (嚴格的) rules to prevent conflict of interest. Although Professor Shen, Professor Gong and I have all taught at Berkeley, our academic disciplines are different, and save for bumping into one another a few times at campus events, we have not had any other contact, whether in a personal or work capacity. As Chairman of the Selection Committee, I have taken all necessary steps to avoid all potential conflicts. I am grateful to other committee members for giving me the great support.

As Interim Provost (臨時院長) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, it is Professor Richard Wong's role and duty to be involved in the selection of senior management team members. I wish to point out that this is not the first time Professor Wong had taken up the Provost post. He was selected for the Provost post by the Search Committee in 2004 and served for six years.

As you may know, our search committees include many colleagues with international academic standing, as well as a member from the Council and a student representative. I would like to thank all of them here for their contributions and support in the long selection process.

As the leader of the University, I keep reminding myself that I am accountable to both the members of the HKU family as well as Hong Kong at large. I am willing to listen to different views and comments. But I also hope all of our discussions could be based on facts, not just speculations. Let's work together to bring HKU to a higher level.

Xiang Zhang (Professor)

President and Vice-Chancellor