June Fourth scholar loses CUHK history post after Immigration Department rejects work visa renewal
入境處拒續批工作簽證 研六四學者失中大歷史系教席
Canadian Chinese historian Ho Hiu-ching, who taught a June Fourth course at Harvard University and wrote *Tiananmen Exiles: The Voice of China’s Democracy Movement*, had been an associate professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2019. After waiting more than a year for a decision, her application to extend her work visa was formally rejected by the Immigration Department this month, immediately costing her the post. In an interview with Independent Media, Ho said she was a “very moderate” person who only wanted to conduct research and teach, but that “such a humble request as being a scholar and a teacher ultimately still comes at such a great cost,” leaving her feeling helpless about the decision. She said it was difficult to state definitively why her visa had been rejected, but believed it was related to her research and teaching. Describing it as a very typical case of “killing the chicken to scare the monkeys,” she said it would have a chilling effect on colleagues and students working on China-related issues and affect academic freedom. Ho said she had researched the subject of “exile,” only to become one of those in exile herself.
曾於哈佛大學開設六四課程、著有《天安門流亡者：中國民主抗爭的呼聲》一書，自2019年起於香港中文大學任副教授的加拿大籍華裔歷史學者何曉清，等待審批逾一年後，工作簽證延期申請於本月正式被入境處拒絕，即時失去教席。何曉清接受《獨媒》訪問，表示自己是「好溫和」的人，只想做研究和教書，惟「咁卑微作為一個學者、一個老師嘅要求，最後都要承受一個咁大嘅代價」，對決定感到無奈。她難以定言簽證被拒的原因，但估計與其研究和教學有關，形容是很典型的「殺雞儆猴」，對研究中國議題的同行和學生造成寒蟬效應，影響學術自由。何嘆自己研究「流亡」的議題，最後反而成了其中一分子。