HKU Vice-President Ian Holliday has formally retracted his earlier statement that if students do not wish to go to China, then they should not come to HKU.
He made the u-turn in response to a public backlash over new plans for HKU students to undertake study both in mainland China and abroad as part of their degree.
Under the proposed policy, the university plans on giving every single student the opportunity to study in mainland China or abroad by 2022.
Though the proposal does not say it would be mandatory, that option was not ruled out.
HKU yesterday released a statement detailing Holliday’s apologetic remarks during a meeting with university student groups.
“First, I apologise unreservedly for my remark indicating that if students do not wish to go to China they should not come to HKU,” Halliday said.
“This was clumsy and misleading. I now formally retract this statement.”
Halliday continued to say that the policy was driven by the university’s belief that their students have to develop a global mindset, including knowledge of China, to be competitive.
Finally, he said the university would continue to discuss their plans with students.
Photo: Rogoyski via Flickr
