Two graduates of the Chinese University of Hong Kong have lost a court challenge against their disqualification from an election for the university's advisory body. The disqualifications stemmed from their pro-independence views and convictions related to the 2019 anti-government protests. Judge Russell Coleman ruled that the challenge was filed late and would not alter the outcome.
Two graduates of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Walter Tse Wai-lok and Anthony Suen Ho-yin, jointly applied for judicial review in November 2023. They challenged the university's decision to disqualify them from running in the convocation standing committee election held in February 2023. The disqualifications were based on their pro-independence views or convictions arising from the 2019 anti-government protests, which the standing committee deemed would bring the convocation into disrepute.
In a written judgment delivered on Friday, Mr Justice Russell Coleman ruled against the pair. He highlighted their failure to lodge the bid within three months of the disqualifications and the standing committee's lack of public functions that would justify judicial intervention.
Coleman noted that even if the challenge succeeded, it would not change the standing committee's conclusion about the pair's candidacy. "It seems to me – not least against the then prevailing political and social landscape – that no amount of supposed remorse or regret could have deflected the [standing committee’s] conclusion, which was and is based on the inherent nature and gravity of the conduct in question," the judge said.
He added that while Tse and Suen complained of no opportunity to make representations to the standing committee, they should have realized their prior convictions or pro-independence stance would raise concerns about their candidacy. The case underscores the cautious approach of Hong Kong universities toward politically sensitive issues.
