CityU amendment bill passes LegCo third reading, removing student union president’s ex officio seat; lawmaker calls it ‘putting things right’
城大修例獲立法會三讀通過 撤學生會主席任當然校董 有議員形容是「撥亂反正」
The Legislative Council today (14 May) passed the Hong Kong City University (Amendment) Bill at its third reading, formally abolishing the student union president’s ex officio seat on the University Council and replacing it with a representative elected by undergraduates from among themselves. City University of Hong Kong welcomed the amendment, saying it would help enhance undergraduate representation on the University Council. The bill stipulates that the student union president’s ex officio membership will be replaced by a representative elected by undergraduates from among themselves and appointed by the University Council. CityU has failed to elect a student union president successfully on several occasions in recent years. The university considered the student union’s legitimacy insufficient and previously said that the existing arrangement, under which the chair of the Senate serves as acting president and then becomes a member of the University Council, was contrary to the original legislative intent. Cheung Yu-yan, chairman of the Bills Committee, said that the student union president could not be elected in four of the past five years, and that the amendment could improve the representativeness issue. Legislator Luk Han-man said that only 146 people voted in the 2024 student union election, accounting for less than 7% of those eligible to vote, and considered the election lacking in representativeness. Election Committee constituency lawmaker Lau Chi-pang said the amendment amounted to ‘putting things right’ and would help rationalise the system. Lawmaker Dennis Tsz Wing Leung said that the university had become an ‘arms factory’ during 2019, while the student union still bore a ‘black mark’. He supported the amendment as lawful and reasonable, and believed that other universities would follow in the future.
立法會今日（5 月 14 日）三讀通過《香港城市大學（修訂）條例草案》，正式撤銷學生會會長在校董會中的當然席位，改為由本科生透過互選產生代表加入校董會。香港城市大學表示歡迎修例，認為有助提升本科生在校董會內的代表性。 條例草案規定，由一名由本科生互選產生並獲校董會委任的代表，取代學生會會長的當然成員身份。 城大近年多次未能成功選出學生會會長，校方認為學生會的認受性不足，曾表明現時由評議會主席署任會長再成為校董會成員的安排，有違立法原意。法案委員會主席張宇人指，過去 5 年內有 4 年無法選出學生會會長，修例可改善代表性問題。 議員陸瀚民提到，2024 年學生會選舉僅 146 人投票，佔可投票人數不足 7%，認為選舉欠缺代表性。選委界議員劉智鵬認為，今次修例屬「撥亂反正」，有助合理化制度。 議員梁子穎稱，2019 年期間大學淪為「兵工廠」，學生會仍有「黑色印記」，支持修例是合法合理，相信未來其他大學亦會跟從。