Hong Kong lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu was warned two years ago by his British alma mater that he could be stripped of his honorary doctorate, and was personally informed on October 28 when it rescinded the award earlier this year, a university letter shows, contradicting claims he was blindsided by the decision.
In an interview with Chinese state media on October 30, Ho complained that Anglia Ruskin University had given him no warning or chance to respond before revoking his law doctorate, and claimed he had only learned of the move when it was reported in the media.
The university made the move after the pro-Beijing legislator was filmed shaking hands with white-clad men linked to an attack on train passengers at Yuen Long railway station in July, and after he directed a sexist and racist slur last month at pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching and her British-born husband.
“I didn’t receive any complaint whatsoever from them in the first place,” Ho, a Legislative Council member for New Territories West, told CGTN. “Even up to now, I haven’t received any official reply or official decision.”
“I didn’t receive any complaint whatsoever from them in the first place,” Ho, a Legislative Council member for New Territories West, told CGTN. “Even up to now, I haven’t received any official reply or official decision.”
But a letter sent to Ho by the university, obtained exclusively by the South China Morning Post through a freedom of information request, indicates the lawyer-turned-politician was told of the decision on October 28, before media outlets published the news, and was first warned of the possibility as far back as November 2017.
“I wrote to the governors on Wednesday October 23 recommending that the university withdraw your award, and on Friday October 25 I received board approval,” vice-chancellor Roderick Watkins wrote in the letter, dated October 31. “I therefore wrote to you on the morning of Monday October 28 by email and in hard copy, withdrawing your award.”
Explaining the decision, the letter cited Ho’s remarks towards Mo and other incidents in recent months which “compounded our concern”.
The letter also shows that former vice-chancellor Iain Martin wrote to Ho two years ago “expressing our concerns, seeking clarification of statements you made, and raising the possibility of our withdrawing your honorary award”.
When approached for comment, an assistant for Ho said the lawmaker had received Watkin’s letter dated October 31 but not the rescindment notice dated October 28. The university had denied Ho of any chance to explain his comments before the decision to rescind the award, he insisted.
Ho drew condemnation from across the political spectrum when he told a public rally in September 2017 that advocates of Hong Kong independence should be “killed mercilessly”. Police investigated the remarks but the following April declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.
The letter also contradicts Ho’s claim that the university revoked his award due to “political influence” after a complaint by David Alton, a member of the British parliament’s upper house.
“Our decision predates the letter from Lord Alton to which you refer, which was first sent to me on the morning of Sunday October 27, and was reached entirely independently of it,” Watkins wrote, insisting the move came after “full and careful consideration”.
Anglia Ruskin has not publicly explained its reasons, only pointing to conduct which “caused increasing concern”.
The university has declined to release internal correspondence on the matter, citing a need for staff to be able to offer opinions in a “full and frank manner”. Its press office and former vice-chancellor Martin, who now works at Deakin University in Australia, have been contacted for comment.
Ho’s personal assistant, who gave his name only as Tom, provided a letter written by Ho on October 30 in which the legislator criticised the university for acting “without due process or my knowledge via a notification letter to me”. Ho had written the letter after the media reported that he had been stripped of his honorary doctorate.
“Based on these facts alone, it is Lord Alton’s complaint that exacerbated these allegations,” the assistant said. “Ho was not given an opportunity to explain.”
The assistant said Ho’s correspondence with the university in 2017 focused on his remarks about Hong Kong independence activists and comments that critics said likened homosexuality to bestiality.
He provided a letter Ho wrote back at the time in which the lawmaker explained that his comment about independence advocates carried heavier connotations in English than Chinese. The Chinese word for “kill” had been used figuratively, he said.
On homosexuality, Ho refuted claims he had drawn a link with bestiality. But his letter said the city was not ready to discuss same-sex marriage “given the cultural background of the Chinese people”.
The outspoken politician was among numerous pro-Beijing lawmakers ousted in Hong Kong’s district council elections on Sunday. He failed to win re-election in the Lok Tsui constituency in Tuen Mun.
Candidates in the city’s pan-democratic camp secured 347 seats, riding a wave of popular discontent after nearly six months of anti-government protests. Pro-establishment candidates won just 60 seats, down from 292 before the polls.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
November 2017: Anglia Ruskin University writes to Ho, raising the possibility of withdrawing his honorary award
25 October 2019: The university’s board decides to rescind Ho’s honorary doctorate
27 October 2019: The university receives a complaint about Ho from Lord David Alton
28 October 2019: The university issues a letter to Ho informing him of the rescindment, according to the university
30 October 2019: After media reports on him losing his award, Ho writes to the university saying it acted without informing him
31 October 2019: The university replies to Ho insisting he was informed on October 28
