Exclusive | Most Hong Kong University council members concerned about president's alleged mismanagement

The group, which is expected to begin its work soon, will be led by Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li Mei-sheung and Tim Lui Tim-leung, chairman of the University Grants Committee.

According to internal documents seen by the Post, members highlighted issues related to wild spending of public funds and failure to follow protocols in tenders as their main concerns.

“The panel's report only cleared him of misconduct, but not of mismanagement, which is (a view) shared by most board members,” a source told the Post.

The documents were written presentations from nearly 20 council members commenting on a report by a committee that looked into allegations of misconduct stemming from anonymous emails reporting complaints.

Last September, board members received emails accusing Zhang of circumventing procedures when replacing a work vehicle with a BMW worth HK$2 million (US$255,400) which he preferred without competitive bidding, improper handling of donations from a mainland Chinese company and money laundering.

Other allegations concerned the recruitment without competitive bidding of an American headhunter to hire a pro-vice chancellor in charge of institutional advancement and a dean of a medical school.

In addition, Zhang was also accused of requiring applicants to have an American university education and of leaving a number of management positions for an extended period as an interim or temporary worker.

The Post has contacted the HKU president's office for comment.

Council members sent their written comments ahead of a meeting in April to discuss the committee's report.

“University procedure and protocol must be followed by all parties, including our president, and I hope such violation of procedure does not occur again in the future,” one wrote members.

“There are clearly governance issues that can still be improved, particularly in the area of ​​exemptions from calls for tender for the purchase of goods and services,” reads another member's communication.

“The reports reveal many fundamental violations that should not have occurred at our university. This happened not only because of poor management, but also because management does not follow the rules,” said one member.

The member also highlighted Zhang's preference for a candidate with experience in the United States to lead the medical school, saying the president should consult the faculty as such a decision could have a major impact on current operation and planning. strategy of the faculty.

“Indicators of mismanagement lead to dereliction of duty,” the member said.

Another document also says the president failed to participate in a staff facility renovation project costing more than HK$40 million and a mega celebratory dinner costing nearly HK$4 million. But he was “active” in the selection of his work vehicle and did not know the price of the pre-selected models.

“Even though the president was involved in the replacement of the HKU vehicle and actively participated in the test drives of the two vehicles. This does not appear to have extended to the financial dimension,” the document states.

“He didn't know the price difference, which meant he didn't know which vehicle was in the budget and which wasn't. Given the involvement of public funds, one would have expected it to check the price gap,” he said, revealing that the panel's report also highlighted that the principle of value for money -price had not been fully taken into account.

One council member said it was shameful for Zhang to use taxpayer money in this way, calling him greedy.

Another member said the car's high price could not be justified, while one pointed out that the car's purchase budget had been increased by H$1.5 million Kong to 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars before Zhang took the test drive.

One of the documents sent by HKU's senior academic staff stated that the president had “completely changed” the central management structure of the university without the council's knowledge, which was described as “totally unacceptable”.

“The president's office includes more than 60 people and the president has further appointed a number of so-called senior advisors,” the member said, demanding an investigation by the board to determine how the university was now centrally managed by Zhang.

“This behavior and leadership style cannot be allowed to continue,” the document states.

Another external member of a major business organization also echoed the appointment of these senior advisors to the president's office.

“Are these newly created roles? Are these permanent roles? How many are there at the University? Are they paid? Do they have KPIs like other paid university staff? » said one submission.

Members criticizing Zhang also said the staff involved should be held accountable.

The Post understands that Zhang has fewer than five allies on the council.

One said the leader had been vindicated for his serious allegations, but his reputation and integrity had been tarnished, which had also damaged the university's reputation and disrupted staff morale.

“Let us strive to learn from our mistakes, strengthen our governance process and rebuild the trust that has been compromised,” he said.

Another supportive member said the panel's report suggested “a complete exoneration of the president,” allowing the leadership team to focus on running the university.