This is the 1608th issue of "Hong Kong One Day"
The Chinese University of Hong Kong announced on its official website today that the school board of trustees received yesterday (8th) the resignation decision of the president, Professor Tuan Chongzhi, and will step down in January 2025. The position of President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The announcement stated that the school is very grateful to President Tuan Chongzhi for his dedicated service and leadership of the university in the past six years. With the joint efforts of university colleagues, he created the first "Study·Work Program" in Hong Kong and supervised the School of Medicine and Music of the Chinese University of Chinese University (Shenzhen). The establishment of the Faculty has led CUHK to new highs in world university rankings and achieved outstanding research performance, made significant progress in mainland and international cooperation, and led the university's innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable development.
The announcement mentioned that Duan Chongzhi said that he was honored to contribute to the development of the university together with his colleagues at the university, and to work together to promote Hong Kong to become an international education and innovation center with the policy support of the national and Hong Kong governments. Regarding the decision to resign, President Duan said: "In accordance with the revised University Regulations, CUHK has implemented a new governance structure. I think this is the right time for the university to find a new president." The
announcement quoted Tuan Chongzhi as saying, thanking university members for their support over the years: "Hong Kong is the place where I was born and grew up. To be able to return to my home and be entrusted with the important responsibility of serving this great university and the entire university community is to fulfill the obligations of CUHK." The founding mission of the university has been the honor of my life. I sincerely thank the CUHK community for their support over the past six years. In the next 12 months, I will spare no effort to ensure the smooth continuation and transition of the university's management and operations."
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Education Bureau stated today (9th) that the SAR government is aware that Professor Tuan Chongzhi, President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has resigned from the CUHK Council and will step down in January 2025. As the revised "The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance" comes into effect in November 2023, the CUHK Council is beginning to improve its structure and enhance the governance level and efficiency of CUHK, which is an important step in the development of higher education in Hong Kong. The government firmly believes that the CUHK Council will make appropriate arrangements for the appointment of the president based on the long-term interests and development needs of the university, so that the university can continue to provide high-quality education and cultivate outstanding talents for Hong Kong and the country. Regarding the announcement of the resignation of Professor Tuan Chongzhi, President of CUHK, Lei Tianliang, Chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC), said that he respects his personal decision and commended CUHK for its impressive academic achievements during Professor Tuan Chongzhi’s tenure as president.
Professor Duan Chongzhi took office at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on January 1, 2018, and is the eighth president of the school. Professor Tuan was born in Hong Kong, and later went to the United States for further study and received a doctorate in life sciences from Rockefeller University in New York in 1977. Professor Duan is an internationally renowned biomedical scientist who focuses on research on musculoskeletal biology and tissue regeneration. Results span basic science, engineering, translational and clinical applications.
During his tenure, Duan Chongzhi caused controversy due to the "revision controversy". After a University student from the Chinese University of Hong Kong was arrested for participating in violent activities, Tuan Chongzhi held a closed-door meeting with some students for nearly two hours, and then published an open letter of more than 3,000 words, condemning the Hong Kong police for "using inappropriate violence against students." The comments immediately attracted criticism. Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao" published an article accusing Duan Chongzhi of "kneeling down" (cantonese, meaning kneeling). The negative effects will continue to ferment. Students from other institutions may follow suit, leading to the spread of street riots on major campuses.
Cathay Pacific canceled 21 more flights to and from Hong Kong today
According to the flight information page of the Hong Kong Airport Authority’s official website, Cathay Pacific canceled at least 21 flights to and from Hong Kong today (9th), involving 9 arrivals and 12 departures. Hong Kong passenger planes are mainly destined for Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore and other Asian regions.
In addition to today, Cathay Pacific canceled at least 11 arriving flights and 10 departing flights yesterday (8th), accounting for 8% of Cathay Pacific’s original flight volume. There were also 9 arriving flights the day before yesterday (7th) and 10 outbound flights were cancelled. The affected flight destinations include Shanghai, Singapore, etc.
From the end of last year to New Year's Day this year, Cathay Pacific also canceled more than 50 flights, and the affected flight destinations were mainly in Asia.Regarding the frequent flight cancellations, Cathay Pacific issued a statement at the time explaining that it was mainly because December was the flu season and more pilots were absent from work due to illness than expected.
Cathay Pacific Airways issued a statement the day before yesterday (7th) that flight services can "operate as usual" during the Spring Festival travel peak period. It also pointed out that in order to increase the number of pilots on standby, an average of 6 pairs of pilots must be "integrated" every day in January and February. flight. The company will contact affected passengers as soon as possible to arrange for them to transfer to other flights with the closest time, or provide refunds.
Today (9th), the Hong Kong Airline Cabin Crew Association issued a statement, pointing out that the root cause of Cathay Pacific's existing problems lies in: Cathay Pacific management significantly reduced the salaries of frontline staff, laid off pilots and flight attendants, and closed the port during the 2020 epidemic. Dragon Airlines, wreaking havoc on aviation talent. The statement pointed out that Cathay Pacific has only restored 70% of its capacity so far, and there are still some crews resigning, and it will take time to train talents.
Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu said before attending the executive meeting today (9th) that the SAR government is very concerned about the Cathay Pacific incident. He said that the Secretary for Transport and Logistics had communicated with Cathay Pacific's management about the incident. Li Jiachao pointed out that every effort should be made to ensure that the losses of affected passengers are minimized, and other flights, even flights of other companies, should be arranged as much as possible so that passengers can take off.
Li Jiahao said that in the long term, Cathay Pacific will review its manpower and overall capacity development arrangements, and the Transport and Logistics Bureau will actively discuss with Cathay Pacific how to deal with relevant issues.
After expressing concerns to Cathay Pacific earlier, the management of the Civil Aviation Department met with the management of Cathay Pacific today (9th) and once again expressed their high concern about Cathay Pacific's flight arrangements and have asked Cathay Pacific to improve its manpower and Various configurations are implemented to ensure stable and reliable services for passengers, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year peak season. The Civil Aviation Department has asked Cathay Pacific to submit a report before the end of January to explain the cause of the incident, flight arrangement handling methods, etc., to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
The Civil Aviation Department reiterated that Cathay Pacific Airways has the responsibility to provide stable and reliable services to passengers. Regarding the airline's cancellation of multiple flights in recent days, it believes that the situation is extremely unsatisfactory and does not meet the reasonable expectations of the government and the public. The Civil Aviation Department understands the public's concern about the incident and will take appropriate follow-up action after receiving and carefully reviewing Cathay Pacific's report.
Former Hong Kong Yuen Long District Councilor Lam Chin was arrested
This morning (9th), former Yuen Long District Councilor Lam Chin was arrested by the Hong Kong police on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and defraud. Hong Kong's Sing Tao website quoted news that officers from the Commercial Crime Investigation Bureau of the Hong Kong Police arrested Lam Jin at a place on Elm Street in Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok at nearly 11 a.m. He is involved in a conspiracy to defraud and defraud case between 2021 and 2023. The case is still under investigation.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Lin Jin is a member of the incitement organization "Tian Shui Connection" and was elected as a member of the Yuen Long District Council in 2019. After being deprived of his qualification as a district councilor in 2021, he established a moving company "Peer Moving House" in the same year. "Peer Moving House" posted on social media this afternoon: "The person in charge of our company was arrested by the Hong Kong police this morning." "Our company's operations will operate normally." "As a legal company, our company will definitely assist the police in the investigation." .
Author丨Zhao Ran, chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News