A Genealogy of CityU Council Chairmen—Successive Chairmen and Governance Practice under the \"Chief Executive as Ex Officio Chancellor

City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) Comprehensive Information Database · University Governance Module

Note: This article is compiled from CityU official announcements, government press releases, and verifiable media sources. For the records of successive Chairmen, the most complete records with primary-source backing exist for the period from 2006 onwards due to the accessibility of official archives; earlier term details are marked with data limitations. The current serving Chairman is referred to by title in sections covering controversies or assessments.

This is the second article in the "University Governance" series. For a multi-perspective juxtaposition of controversial events, see Governance Controversies and the Debate on Academic Autonomy; for the statutory governance framework, see Governance Architecture and Legal Framework; for an overview of successive Vice-Chancellors, see Records of Successive Vice-Chancellors and Council Chairmen.

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On a typhoon day in October 2016, the CityU Council completed a "recorded vote" by fax and email—19 members participated, 17 voted in favour, 2 against—clearing the renewal of the then-Vice-Chancellor's third term. The entire voting process was rushed and limited in openness, yet it precisely reflects the true weight of the Council Chairman's position: mostly operating behind the scenes, but at every critical juncture in Vice-Chancellor personnel matters, the Chairman's manner of presiding determines the credibility of the entire governance mechanism. This article traces this genealogy chairman by chairman, covering the terms of five verifiable Chairmen from 2006 to the present.

# How is the Council Chairman appointed, and why is this position the true nexus of CityU governance?

Conclusion in a sentence: The Chairman of the Council of City University of Hong Kong is appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR in their capacity as "ex officio Chancellor" (term generally three years). The Chairman concurrently chairs successive Vice-Chancellor search/renewal committees, serving as the de facto decision-making core of the university's highest governance body; the five Chairmen verifiable from 2006 onwards are clearly recorded in official gazettes and on the CityU website.

Under the City University of Hong Kong Ordinance, the Chief Executive is the ex officio Chancellor of CityU, vested with the statutory power to appoint the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and Treasurer of the Council^※. The Council Chairman not only presides over every Council meeting but also serves as the ex officio chairman of core governance committees—including the Executive Committee, the Nomination Committee, and the Honorary Awards Committee—and leads the Vice-Chancellor Search Committee. Consequently, the orientation of the person selected as Council Chairman, their political relationship with the Chief Executive, and their manner of handling critical moments profoundly influence CityU's developmental trajectory.

# Overview of Successive Chairmen: Verifiable Tenure Timeline (2006–Present)

The following table is compiled from official gazettes and CityU website announcements. Pre-2006 terms are not included in this table due to the limited availability of currently accessible documents, pending corroboration from more primary historical sources.

Data Limitations: Due to limited archived documents on the CityU website, this article temporarily excludes Council Chairmen serving before 2006 to avoid errors arising from reliance on second-hand accounts. Readers with access to primary documents are welcome to contribute.

# How does the "Ex Officio Chancellor's" Appointment Power Shape this Position?

The City University of Hong Kong Ordinance explicitly stipulates that the Council Chairman must be selected and appointed by the Chief Executive from among the "external lay members" (non-staff/non-student). This structural arrangement carries three layers of governance implications.

First, political interconnectedness. The Chief Executive concurrently serves as the Chancellor of all eight statutory universities in Hong Kong, holding appointment power over each institution's Council Chairman. The selection of successive Chairmen, in practice, reflects the Chief Executive's Office's judgement and considerations regarding university governance. Mr. Leung Chun-ying was appointed by the then-government as Chairman of the CityU Council before himself becoming Chief Executive^※, and subsequently exercised appointment power over CityU and other universities in his capacity as Chancellor, creating a unique institutional nexus.

Second, term design. The standard appointment term is three years, with renewal possible. As seen in the case of Lester Garson Huang, he was initially appointed for a term from 2018 to 2020, renewed for three years from 2021 to 2023, and subsequently reappointed for an additional one-year term until the end of 2024^※, serving seven years in total. This flexible renewal mechanism allows the Chairman to maintain continuity during critical transitional periods, such as a Vice-Chancellor search.

Third, statutory threshold and stabiliser effect. According to the ordinance, removing a Vice-Chancellor requires approval by a three-quarters majority of the Council^※, the same threshold required for appointing a Vice-Chancellor. Under this mechanism, the Chairman plays the role of a "stabiliser"—their ability to consolidate majority opinion within the Council is often more decisive than their personal stance.

# Chung Shui-ming (2006–2008): A Product of Institutional Accumulation

Chung Shui-ming—currently serving in an honorary role as Pro-Chancellor—represents a classic case of the CityU Council's internal promotion mechanism. He joined the Council in 1998^※, served successively as Treasurer (1999–2003) and Deputy Chairman (2004–2006), and was formally appointed Chairman in June 2006 for a one-year term^※.

His term spanned the critical transitional period encompassing President H.K. Chang's departure (2007) and the confirmation of the succession arrangement. According to CityU's official 2006 announcement^※, then-President H.K. Chang praised Chung Shui-ming for his "outstanding contribution to the University's financial management during difficult economic times and his leadership in establishing the foundations for sub-degree programmes." The 2006 appointment context also noted his forward-looking arrangements concerning the "2012 four-year undergraduate curriculum"^※, a common challenge facing all Hong Kong institutions at the time. Subsequently, Chung Shui-ming was appointed Pro-Chancellor of CityU in 2016^※, maintaining long-term engagement in the university's governance structure.

# Leung Chun-ying (2008–approx. 2011): Tensions Arising from a Political Figure Joining the Council

Mr. Leung Chun-ying was appointed by the government as Chairman of the CityU Council in April 2008, formally assuming office in October of the same year^※. He had previously served as Chairman of the Lingnan University Council, possessing prior experience in higher education governance. His arrival almost coincided with the formal assumption of office by the fourth Vice-Chancellor, Way Kuo. President Way Kuo's inauguration ceremony was held in November 2008, presided over by Chief Executive Donald Tsang in his capacity as Chancellor^※.

However, relations between Mr. Leung and CityU staff during his term were notably tense. According to a Wikipedia entry citing reports^※, university staff gave Mr. Leung a leadership performance rating of "less than one out of ten" in an internal appraisal and accused him of attempting to weaken the influence of the academic staff union^※. This friction on campus reflected the structural tension inherent in external political figures intervening in university governance—namely, the conflict between the appointee's political background and the internal culture of autonomy within academic institutions. Mr. Leung stepped down around 2011, subsequently devoting himself fully to his campaign for Chief Executive, to which he was elected in 2012.

Cross-verification note: In the article Governance Controversies and the Debate on Academic Autonomy, this site conducted a third-round counter-verification of the specific allegations regarding the "rating below one point" and "weakening the academic union." It found that the SCMP 2012 report cited by the English Wikipedia actually described controversies surrounding Mr. Leung's successor and did not substantiate these allegations themselves. This article, following convention, presents the existing accounts summarised by Wikipedia; readers may cross-reference this with the verification conclusions in that article.

# Herman Hu Shao-ming (2012–2017): The Way Kuo Renewal Controversy and the "Recorded Vote" Incident

Herman Hu Shao-ming served as @[Chairman of the CityU Council from October 2012 to December 2017](https:// www.cityu.edu.hk/en/stories/donor/2018/03/herman-shao-ming-hu). His profile is principally in business and philanthropy. During his chairmanship, he concurrently chaired the Executive Committee, Nomination Committee, and Strategy Development Committee, and had previously chaired the Human Resources Committee from 2006 to 2011^※.

His term's most emblematic institutional achievement was pushing forward the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences^※, which finally received government approval after several setbacks—a contribution he personally regarded as the most important of his chairmanship.

Yet controversy also marked this period. In October 2016, the renewal of President Way Kuo's third term was conducted by the CityU Council via a "recorded vote" using fax and email. Under a hoisted typhoon signal and a rushed timeline, the motion passed with 19 members participating, 17 votes in favour and 2 against^※. Critics argued the process lacked transparency and was conducted without staff-student consultation; that the "recorded" voting method could pressure dissenting Council members; and that the case extended President Kuo's tenure until age 71, breaching CityU's general staff retirement convention of 65 and setting a widely questioned precedent. This event is a classic case study of questionable transparency in the CityU Council's governance mechanism and forms part of the context for understanding why the wording of subsequent press releases increasingly emphasised "procedural fairness."

# Lester Garson Huang (2018–2024): A Seven-Year Term and the Search for President Freddy Boey

Lester Garson Huang, SBS, JP, was appointed Chairman of the CityU Council by then-Chief Executive Carrie Lam in her capacity as Chancellor, for a three-year term commencing 1 January 2018^※. A practising solicitor and the Managing Partner and Co-Chairman of PC Woo & Co., he had concurrently served as a Council member at both the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology before taking up the CityU chairmanship.

His tenure saw two renewals: a three-year renewal from January 2021 to the end of 2023^※, and, because the Vice-Chancellor transition after President Kuo's departure was still ongoing, a further one-year reappointment in November 2023 extending his term to the end of 2024^※, totalling seven years as Chairman.

The most critical governance action during Mr. Huang's term was leading the 2021–2022 search for President Freddy Boey Yin Chiang^※. He concurrently chaired the Nomination Committee, presiding over a global recruitment process spanning a year and a half and three stages of selection (Search Committee → Nomination Committee → Council), culminating in the Council's final approval on 17 May 2022 for Professor Freddy Boey to become the fifth President^※.

However, an unexpected disruption occurred towards the end of Mr. Huang's term: Professor Freddy Boey tendered his early resignation on 24 April 2026 for "personal reasons," stepping down approximately two years before his five-year term was due to end^※. By that time, the chairmanship had already passed to Michael Ngai, and this event fell to the successor to handle.

# Michael Ngai Ming-tak (2025–Present): Taking the Helm in a Transition Period with a Global Outlook

Michael Ngai Ming-tak, appointed by Chief Executive John Lee in his capacity as Chancellor, assumed office as Chairman of the CityU Council on 1 January 2025 for a three-year term^※. A Cambridge alumnus and former CEO of UBS AG, he is currently Chairman of The Red Group, concurrently serves as Chairman of Asia GreenTech Fund, and holds positions as an Independent Non-Executive Director of COSCO Shipping and Longyuan Power.

Less than four months into his tenure, CityU faced a presidential vacuum created by Professor Freddy Boey's resignation. CityU announced the launch of a global recruitment process, with the Council fully supporting stability efforts during the transitional period^※, and Provost and Deputy President Horace Ip assumed the role of Acting President. Michael Ngai promptly demonstrated an active role in ensuring institutional stability.

On the external engagement front, in May 2025, he led a delegation to Kuwait and Kazakhstan^※, signing memoranda of understanding with local universities and establishing a CityUHK Research and Innovation Institute at Satbayev University in Kazakhstan, advancing academic collaboration aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative. A Council Chairman personally leading such overseas missions is not a historical norm for CityU, reflecting to some degree a new orientation under renewed international competitive pressure: proactive engagement by the Council level in the university's brand-building.

# The Vice-Chancellor Search: The Chairman's Institutional Power as "Committee Chair"

According to CityU's official announcements and the ordinance, the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor requires approval by a three-quarters majority of the Council^※. In practice, each search involves the Council forming a "Search Committee" and a "Nomination Committee," with the Council Chairman typically serving concurrently as the chair of the Nomination Committee. Taking the 2022 search for Professor Freddy Boey as an example, the entire process included the following steps:

In its design, this process was more standardised than the "recorded fax vote" for President Kuo's renewal in 2016, possibly linked to earlier external criticisms regarding transparency. Nevertheless, as the chair of the Nomination Committee, the Council Chairman exercises influence extending well beyond procedural formalities in determining the candidate pool and shaping the final nomination.

# Structural Issues Reflected in the Chairman Genealogy

The succession line of CityU Council Chairmen reflects a set of structural tensions common to Hong Kong's publicly funded universities.

Continuity and accountability in appointment power. The five verifiable Chairmen were all appointed by the government in the name of the Chancellor; none were elected. Whether a term is renewed also rests on the decision of the Chancellor (the Chief Executive), with no formal channel for participation by the university community. The controversy over President Kuo's renewal in 2016 partly stems from this structure—the pressured perception of the "recorded vote" and a composition dominated by external appointees together diminish the space for dissent.

The power elasticity between Chairman and Vice-Chancellor. The law stipulates that the Vice-Chancellor is "subject to the control of the Council," yet in practice, the relationship between the Chairman and the Vice-Chancellor relies more on personal trust and mutual understanding. The extremely low staff satisfaction scores during Mr. Leung Chun-ying's term and the renewal controversy under Herman Hu both point to this relationship as an unstable variable in campus operations should it break down.

The character of "invisible when quiet, pivotal when troubled." Most of the time, the Council Chairman exists in the public eye with few public appearances and a low media profile. However, once confronted with a major personnel upheaval—such as the departure of a Vice-Chancellor—the Chairman immediately becomes the key guarantor of institutional credibility and transitional stability, with their speed of response and manner of phrasing closely scrutinised by outsiders. Michael Ngai's public statement and immediate launch of a recruitment process following Professor Freddy Boey's resignation is a classic manifestation of this role character.

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