Latest news with #LingnanUniversity
RTHK
5 days ago
- RTHK
Four held over HK$1.3m theft from student union
Four held over HK$1.3m theft from student union Police accuse the suspects of embezzling the student union's funds and using the money to pay off credit card debts and for personal spending. File photo: RTHK Four people have been arrested on suspicion of stealing around HK$1.3 million from the Lingnan University Students' Union. Two of them are current executive committee members of the union and the other two are former members. The suspects are aged from 21 to 24. Police allege that they embezzled the student union's funds and used the money to pay off credit card debts and for personal spending. "The investigation showed that the student union is a legal and registered society. Any cheques issued from their bank account require signatures from two executive committee members to be redeemed and take effect," chief inspector Au Yeung Tak said. Police allege that two former executive committee members signed four cheques totalling HK$1.3 million between April 2024 and April 2025. Officers also seized items such as computers, phones, bank documents and credit cards. In response to RTHK's enquiry, Lingnan University said it's learning about the incident and will fully cooperate with the police investigation.
RTHK
5 days ago
- RTHK
Four held over HK$1.3m theft from student union
Four held over HK$1.3m theft from student union Police accuse the suspects of embezzling the student union's funds and using the money to pay off credit card debts and for personal spending. File photo: RTHK Four people have been arrested on suspicion of stealing around HK$1.3 million from the Lingnan University Students' Union. Two of them are current executive committee members of the union and the other two are former members. The suspects are aged from 21 to 24. Police allege that they embezzled the student union's funds and used the money to pay off credit card debts and for personal spending. "The investigation showed that the student union is a legal and registered society. Any cheques issued from their bank account require signatures from two executive committee members to be redeemed and take effect," chief inspector Au Yeung Tak said. Police allege that two former executive committee members signed four cheques totalling HK$1.3 million between April 2024 and April 2025. Officers also seized items such as computers, phones, bank documents and credit cards. In response to RTHK's enquiry, Lingnan University said it's learning about the incident and will fully cooperate with the police investigation.
HKFP
5 days ago
- HKFP
4 Lingnan University students arrested over alleged HK$1 million theft
Four students at Lingnan University in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly stealing HK$1 million from the students' union funds. Three male students and one female student, aged 21 to 24, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of theft and conspiracy to steal, local media outlets reported on Thursday. The four were reportedly detained on Wednesday for investigation. A source who declined to be identified confirmed the arrests to HKFP. The Lingnan University Students' Union president, Hong Cheuk-in, declined to comment on the case. The alleged theft took place between 2024 and 2025 and involved around HK$1 million of students' union funds, according to media reports. Police are expected to meet the press on Thursday to provide more information about the investigation. HKFP has contacted Lingnan University for comment. HK01 reported in November that a self-proclaimed Lingnan University student had accused members of the students' union of embezzlement in a mass email to the school. Lai denied the accusation at that time.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- South China Morning Post
4 Lingnan University students in Hong Kong arrested over HK$1 million theft
Four student union members of Lingnan University in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly stealing over HK$1 million (US$127,463) from their organisation, the Post has learned. According to a source, the alleged theft took place between 2024 and 2025, and the students were detained by police on Wednesday for investigation. The four core members of the union, three male and one female, aged from 21 to 24, were arrested for theft and conspiracy to steal. They allegedly stole over $1 million from the student union. Police are expected to meet the press on Thursday to provide more details of the investigation. The Post has reached out to Lingnan University for comment.
HKFP
11-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
‘Democratic exercise': Lingnan University Students' Union vows to press forward despite school pressure
Skip to content After two years, students at Hong Kong's Lingnan University finally have a union – but new university rules have thrown its future into uncertainty. Four members of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union, pose for a photo on May 7, 2025. From left: Oscar Kwong, Hong Cheuk-in, Isaac Lai, Philip Chow. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP Perpetual – the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU) – won a campus-wide election in November. However, since its term began in March, the student cabinet has been operating without support from the school. It is unable to book campus venues for its activities or to sit in school committee meetings. Its plight is the latest sign of uneasy relations between Hong Kong students' unions wishing to represent their peers and universities seeking greater control over student leaders. Some universities have distanced themselves from their students' unions after the national security law came into effect in 2020, imposed by Beijing in the wake of the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest. School administrations stopped collecting membership fees for unions, suspended their access to campus facilities, and, in extreme cases, cut ties with their student bodies over 'legal risk.' Among the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong, five do not have an active university-wide students' union. At least three universities – the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the Education University of Hong Kong – have stopped recognising their students' unions, while those at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University have been vacant. Only three – Lingnan University, City University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – still have active students' unions. In January, Lingnan University proposed a new rule, asking the LUSU to sign an undertaking and comply with the rules outlined in the document or risk losing the school's support, four members of the 11-strong cabinet told HKFP. The wide-ranging undertaking requires the LUSU to 'support LU [Lingnan University] and its vision and mission,' abide by Hong Kong's law, and not commit 'any conduct that might damage LU's reputation,' among other obligations, according to the document seen by HKFP. The university also reserves the right to amend the document without prior consultation. Hong Kong's Lingnan University in May 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. That is not the only requirement. Last month, Lingnan University released a new Student Leader Charter, outlining what it describes as the 'ethical and behavioural expectations' of student societies. Student societies must register with the school by July 13. Failure to register may risk losing not only the school's support, but also being barred from associating with the student society under the name and logo of Lingnan University. 'Basically, we can accept all the requirements,' Isaac Lai, Perpetual's vice president and a fifth-year student majoring in social sciences, told HKFP in Cantonese. 'The only thing that we think is relatively dangerous is that the school is requiring us to sign a document that is subject to constant amendment.' Perpetual has not yet signed the undertaking but has decided to comply with the new registration rule. 'We want to see if the LUSU is able to register under the new system and become an organisation recognised by the school,' Lai said. He did, however, acknowledge the uncertainty of the outcome. The relationship between Lingnan University and the LUSU has turned sour since 2021, when the university stopped collecting LUSU membership fees from students – previously a common practice among universities in the city to assist with the operations of students' unions. Lingnan University said at that time it had received complaints that it was 'inappropriate' for the university to collect fees for the LUSU, according to local media reports. Perpetual's president, Hong Cheuk-in, who is in his final year studying philosophy, was a freshman that year. He said the executive council of the LUSU that year had 'a hard time' running due to the university's decision. Hong Cheuk-in, president of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Last year, Lingnan University's President Joe Qin told the Sing Tao Daily that the university had no authority over its students' union and that it was 'never part of Lingnan University.' When Perpetual ran for office in November, the LUSU had been vacant for two years. The number of eligible student voters had dwindled partly because of the vacancy. During the election, only 622 students registered as voters. Lingnan University had close to 3,600 undergraduate students in 2024, according to official school figures. Around 250 students cast their ballots, with 200 approval votes going to Perpetual as the bearer of the LUSU. 'The support from fellow students is our most important asset,' Lai said. 'We wish to connect to more students by holding events, and more importantly, to make the school listen to students' voices.' Isaac Lai, vice president of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. However, the new requirement, which demands that student societies directly register with the school's Office of Student Affairs, could limit the functions of LUSU, Perpetual's members said. It could cause the union to lose its relevance in campus life. Previously, student societies such as interest clubs and departmental associations were registered with and approved by the LUSU – an embodiment of student-led self-governance. When the university announced the registration proposal in April, it also uploaded a 25-page handbook titled 'A Must for Student Societies.' The handbook – seen by HKFP – is 'an essential guide to setting up, running, and sustaining an LU recognised student society, and regulations in organising student activities.' Registering with the university may not resolve the union's problem. 'The worst-case scenario is that we are not recognised' by the university, Lai said. 'The university may invoke the Lingnan University Ordinance and stop us from using its name.' In an emailed reply on Friday, a Lingnan University spokesperson told HKFP that student societies must complete registration and follow relevant guidelines and rules in order to receive the university's support for funding and campus facilities. When Hong and Lai entered university in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the momentum of student associations appeared to be at a low point – partly due to the changing political landscape in Hong Kong for student activism, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic. 'You didn't even meet friends on campus' during the pandemic, Hong recalled. 'Therefore, you wouldn't start an association with your friends. Many student hostel associations have been vacant since Covid.' Students are also afraid that speaking up about campus affairs would cause them trouble, the four members said. Philip Chow, a member of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Students 'are angry about some matters, but they do not have a proper channel to speak out publicly,' Lai said. 'It is also considered pointless. It could risk straining the relationship with the school and getting yourself into trouble.' Students' interest in school affairs and student welfare has been lukewarm, the members said, something that Perpetual hopes to change. They wish to channel students' opinions into official policymaking bodies in the university, as the LUSU can nominate representatives to sit on various school committees. 'We are like civil servants,' said Perpetual member Philip Chow, a second-year student majoring in politics. 'Or district councillors,' Hong chimed in. But the university has also stopped accepting nominations from the LUSU for its committees since March, the members said. Oscar Kwong, a member of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Despite the setback, the union hopes it can still provide the students a chance to experience a 'democratic exercise,' said Hong. 'To give them [students] the feeling that their vote is valued – this is what I would like to accomplish the most,' he added. However, he admitted that most of the union's functions would hinge on whether the university is willing to cooperate with students. 'The only bargaining chips we have are the extent to which they [the university] would like to honour democracy and student autonomy,' he said. Despite the uncertainty ahead, the four members of Perpetual said they have not considered disbanding. 'No matter how they change the system, we will find a way to express students' thoughts and their demands,' Lai said. 'It depends on how you do it – and whether you really want to do it.' However, the four members differ in terms of their risk assessment on a personal level. Members of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union, are photographed on campus on May 7, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Oscar Kwong, a second-year sociology student, said he had been preparing for the possibility that he could be kicked out of school for his role in the student union. Lai went a step further, saying that the worst possible consequence of his involvement would be arrest. 'I personally think it is easy to fall foul of the law unwittingly nowadays,' he said. He cited the case of four HKU student leaders who were jailed after they passed a motion praising a man who stabbed and wounded a police officer in July 2021. The four HKU students, including then-students' union chair Charles Kwok, were accused of advocating terrorism and later sentenced to 15 months behind bars on appeal over a lesser, alternative charge. HKU not only condemned the controversial motion but also cut ties with the students' union, which had collectively resigned after the saga. The HKU students' union has been vacant since then. To Hong and Chow, however, the risk does not entail personal safety or academic life, as their cabinet has collectively decided on a 'moderate' course of action. 'For example, I cannot throw bananas [as a protest] as the president of our union, because I know my fellow members would not have approved,' Hong said. 'Our behaviour will be moderate because it has to be agreed upon by all members.' Four members of Perpetual, the 58th executive council of the Lingnan University Students' Union, convene a meeting at a student residence on May 7, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP Instead, Perpetual is most at risk of being isolated from its fellow students, the pair said. 'In my imagination, the worst case would be that no one cares anymore about the students' union,' Chow said. 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