The incoming vice-chancellor of Edinburgh University has been chided by staff at his current institution for efforts to limit freedom of speech on campuses in Hong Kong.



The Academic Staff Association of the University of Hong Kong said a joint statement signed by Peter Mathieson in September worked to “curtail” discussion by students at the school, and called on him to “take responsibilities for your action on this extremely serious matter”.

Mathieson was appointed vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Edinburgh in February and is expected to take up the post in early 2018. He did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Controversy erupted after students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong plastered a bulletin board with calls for the city to declare independence from China. University leadership condemned the action and warned it would remove any pro-independence signs in the future.

In response the heads of all 10 universities in Hong Kong penned a joint statement saying “freedom of expression is not absolute” and described calls for independence as “abuses”. They also claimed talk of independence went against the Basic Law, the territory’s mini-constitution, implying the students’ actions were somehow illegal.

Mathieson later attempted to justify signing the statement in an interview with the Scotsman by saying the abuses referred to “hate speech”, referring to messages that touched on a man’s suicide and suggestions that the anniversary of 9/11 should be celebrated. He has also said he signed it to avoid “isolation”.

But academic staff at the Hong Kong university said Mathieson had not done enough to clarify his position in a letter from Cheung Sing-wai, the chair of the staff association, seen by the Guardian. The letter was first reported by Hong Kong Free Press.

“You lectured students in your final inauguration speech to incoming students on 30 August 2017 that ‘the university expects people to take responsibility for their actions’,” the letter said. “This is an excellent opportunity for you to show students, staff and the public how you would take responsibilities for your action on this extremely serious matter.

“Unfortunately, you have for some unknown reason failed to take up this opportunity up to now,” the letter continued. “Nonetheless, we wish you can do so soon to show you are a good role model for the students.”

The UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 and the territory was allowed to maintain freedom of expression, a right unheard of in mainland China, and a separate education system.

In response to the joint statement by university heads, the head of Lingnan University’s student union said the group had become “political puppets”, adding he believed they had been ordered to issue the comment by an unnamed higher authority.

Calls for independence have grown in recent years as young people in Hong Kong take increasingly radical political positions in response to a government that largely ignores their concerns. The city’s top official is effectively appointed by Beijing and the legislature is packed with pro-establishment figures returned by professional groups rather than popular elections.