Retiring after Hong Kong protest turmoil, Baptist University president Roland Chin says: ‘I voice what I believe’
- Dealing with campus protests his way brought attacks from students, establishment alike
- ‘I’m not controversial,’ insists president who aimed to represent all students, staff, alumni
Baptist University’s outgoing president, Roland Chin Tai-hong, believes it is not too late for Hong Kong to set up a conciliation commission to foster conversation between different camps and heal a society ripped apart by last year’s anti-government protests.
Although the city appeared calmer on the surface now, he said, the root of the problems had not been dealt with and Hong Kong remained divided and filled with unhappiness.
Chin, 68, also shared his vision on higher education in an interview with the Post, saying academic freedom, institutional autonomy and global diversity had to be preserved for the city to flourish as a leading hub for learning.
After a long academic career, Chin, whose field is computer science, is set to retire at the end of the month. He attended high school in Hong Kong before obtaining his bachelor’s and PhD degrees in the United States. He began his teaching career at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the 1980s.
He returned to Hong Kong in the 1990s to teach at the University of Science and Technology, before moving on in 2010 to become provost and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong.
Chin became president and vice-chancellor of the publicly funded Baptist University in 2015, and faced his biggest challenges last year, when dozens of his students were arrested and the campus occupied by protesters during the social unrest.