A law professor and prominent figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement was fired from his university position on Tuesday, less than a month after Beijing passed a new national security law in the semi-autonomous nation.
Benny Tai, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, was fired in an 18-2 vote by the university’s governing council, according to the South China Morning Post.
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The decision was a reversal of a previous decision by the university senate, which said there were not enough reasons to justify the dismissal of Tai, Reuters reported.
Tai, who was not present at the meeting, responded to his expulsion on social media.
“It marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong,” Tai said on Facebook. “Academic institutions in Hong Kong cannot protect their members from internal and external interference.”
Occupy Central leader Benny Tai stands in front of an old double-decker bus used as a voting center for an unofficial “primary” for pro-democracy candidates ahead of the legislative elections in Hong Kong on July 11. Tai, a professor and leading figure in Hong Kong’s political opposition, was fired from his university job after China’s approval of a new national security law. (AP Photo / Vincent Yu)
Tai has been free on bail since he was sentenced to 16 months in prison in April 2019 as one of nine leaders prosecuted for his participation in a 2014 universal suffrage campaign known as the Umbrella Movement.
While the movement failed in its attempt to expand democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, the protests returned last year following the proposed local government legislation that would have seen criminal suspects extradited to face trial in mainland China.
Increasingly violent protests in favor of democracy led the Chinese legislature to pass the national security law in June.
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Critics have denounced the law as part of a major crackdown on political activity, freedom of expression, and academic independence that has led a prominent opposition group to dissolve. Some books have been recalled from libraries over concerns that they violated the law’s restrictions on calls for greater autonomy for the city of 7.5 million.
The Chinese central government liaison officer in Hong Kong released a statement praising Tai’s removal. He said the dismissal marked “punishment for evil and the defense of justice” and “defends Hong Kong’s general interests, meets public expectations and protects social justice.”
Tai remained optimistic in his Facebook post, writing that he planned to continue writing and lecturing on legal issues and soliciting public support.
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“If we continue in our persistence, we will definitely see the revival of the rule of law in Hong Kong someday,” Tai wrote.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
