Arthur Li
Charles Kao | |
---|---|
Succeeded by | Ambrose King |
Secretary for Education and Manpower | |
In office 1 July 2002 – 30 June 2007 | |
Chief Executive | Donald Tsang |
Preceded by | Fanny Law |
Succeeded by | Michael Suen |
Personal details | |
Born | Hong Kong, Empire of Japan | 27 June 1945
Spouse | Diana Chester |
Relations | Koon-chun Li (great grandfather) Fook-shu Li (father) Tze-ha Wu (mother) David Li (brother) |
Arthur Li | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Guózhāng |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Jyutping | lei5 gwok3 zoeng1 |
Arthur Li Kwok-cheung,
Life and career
Li was born into the prominent Li family. His grandfather, Li Koon-chun, was the founder of the
An alumnus of
Li's tenure as Secretary for Education and Manpower was marked by an era of education reforms that included the School-Based Management Policy. Since 2000, the Education and Manpower Bureau has implemented a number of mandates, including having teachers spend more time with students outside the classroom, adding exams for subjects such as English and history, and ordering that teachers take benchmark assessments to prove their language abilities. Li ostensibly retired from public service in 2007.
In the role, he caused controversy by proposing mergers first between
Li's appointment by
Six months later, when it became known that Li was likely to take over the chairmanship of the Council upon the expiry of the term of
In December 2018, Li was reappointed for a second three-year term to the Council.[9] His reappointment elicited criticism from the Hong Kong University Students' Union.[10] Academic Staff Association chairman William Cheung Sing-wai expressed that "there has been a chilling effect" during Li's tenure.[9]
In December 2021, Li criticized Hong Kong's Pillar of Shame, calling it a lie and claiming it was not built to honour those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.[11]
Reputation
His leadership style has seen him being referred to as "King Arthur" or even "the Tsar".[12]
Personal life
He was married to Diana Chester, a registered nurse and graduate of New Hall College, Cambridge University who died in 2013.
Li owns more than 40 properties.[13] In August 2023, his declaration of interests showed that he owned more than 30 properties in Hong Kong, and 2 properties in the United Kingdom.[14]
Appointments
Before his appointment, Li was Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as:
- Professor of Surgery and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, CUHK
- Member of the Education Commission and Member of the Committee on Science and Technology
- Member of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority
- Member of the Hong Kong Medical Council
- Member of the University Grants Committee
- Member of the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong
- Member of the Hospital Governing Committee of United Christian Hospital, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
- Member of the board of directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
- Member of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute
- Vice-President of the Association of University presidents of China
- Patron of the Royal College of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland
- Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Honorary Fellow of the American Surgical Association
- Hon Fellow of the America College of Surgeons
- Hon Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and Glasgow
- Hon Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine
See also
- Politics of Hong Kong
- Executive Council of Hong Kong
- Four big families of Hong Kong
- School-Based Management Policy
- University of Hong Kong pro-vice-chancellor selection controversy
References
- ^ "Five things to know about Arthur Li's appointment as HKU council chairman". South China Morning Post. 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Appendix to the 2017 Honours List" (PDF). Hong Kong SAR Government. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ a b University of Hong Kong alumni vow action to stop ex-minister Arthur Li taking over as chairman of ruling council, SCMP, 25 Oct 2015
- ^ Arthur Li made a HKU council member, RTHK, 21 March 2015
- ^ Most HKU staff have no confidence in Arthur Li, poll shows, EJ Insight, 23 April 2015
- ^ "昨晚政府刊憲委任一向仇視港大的李國章做校委會主席,引起港大校友和師生不滿。" 多名校委不滿李國章入主港大 陳祖為批政府一意孤行
- ^ "Li had weeks earlier blamed the drop in international ranking of local universities on "academics who would rather appear in talk shows than do their job of teaching" Most HKU staff have no confidence in Arthur Li, poll shows, EJ Insight, 23 April 2015
- ^ For example, upon appointment he promptly criticised HKU professors for having "become intellectually incompetent".HKU Professors Insulted, South China Morning Post, 6 April 2015
- ^ a b "Arthur Li to lead HKU governing council for another three years". South China Morning Post. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "Tit for Tat – Statement from the Hong Kong University Students' Union on the re-appointment of Arthur Li Kwok Cheung as the HKU Council Chairman – The Hong Kong University Students' Union". Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "'Pillar of Shame' is a lie, says HKU Council chair Arthur Li". The Standard HK.
- ^ "'King' Arthur Li tipped as Hong Kong's next chief executive". South China Morning Post. 22 February 2015.
- ^ Standard, The. "Treasury chief comes flat out on top". The Standard. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "16 Hong Kong top advisers declare ownership of 110 properties, 450 plots of land". South China Morning Post. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
External links
Quotations related to Arthur Li at Wikiquote