“As we prepare for the advent of our new ‘Jiazi’ (a sixty-year cycle), we have thought carefully with our stakeholders about the journey we have travelled and how we can build on our strong heritage to future-proof the CUHK brand over the decades to come,” said President Tuan.
It is the fourth time for CUHK’s emblem to have a new design since the University’s establishment in 1963. The second oldest university in the city also held an exhibition on the “Evolution of CUHK’s Emblem” on campuses but it was suspended after the emblem controversy erupted.
2. What does the new design look like?
The now-shelved emblem featured a golden phoenix on a purple background. The redesign retained the colours and symbol of the old version, but no longer halved the shield to apply the purple and gold in a reversed format.
The new crest also came with a “simplified version” for use on social media platforms, which removed the university’s motto written in four Chinese characters that stated: “Through learning and temperance to virtue.”
3. What happened after CUHK launched its new design?
After CUHK unveiled the new crest, it immediately drew criticism from all three lawmakers who are also university council members, former city leader Leung Chun-ying, alumni and students. The beleaguered institution could hardly get any positive comments from anyone.
Lawmaker and CUHK council member Edward Lau Kwok-fan slammed the university for being disrespectful because it did not conduct any consultations, saying changing the emblem would hit a nerve for many people.
Lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan accused the university’s management of a lack of transparency over the change, adding that they were “treating us as if we are dead”.
Chinese University of Hong Kong head agrees to drop crest redesign after complaints
Another lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu said he found out about the new emblem on the same day it was announced.
Tuan’s long-time critic, former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying, also weighed in, pointing his finger at Tuan and accusing him of treating the institution as if it were his own.
Joint College Student Union Working Group, a platform organising the new student union, hit out at the management for a lack of consultation and destroying tradition.
Some internet users even said the new phoenix looked like a pheasant and slammed the university for being ungrateful as it removed the ribbon with the school motto.
4. Why did CUHK ditch its new design after a week?
The university did not provide a clear answer on why it abandoned the new design on Monday.
University ditches new crest week after outcry from Hong Kong lawmakers
After a meeting on Tuesday, the university said its council had accepted Tuan’s recommendation that the emblem revert to its earlier version, without elaborating on the rationale behind the decision.
5. Why is the issue so contentious?
Two analysts said the university did not understand and underestimated what the emblem meant to students and alumni and attributed the backlash to a lack of consultation.
But Chinese University political scientist Ma Ngok said the lawmakers asking for the independent inquiry overreacted.
“There is indeed a procedural problem, but is it really a big deal that we need an independent investigation? It gives people an impression that different kinds of forces are attempting to intervene in the daily operation of the university,” Ma said.
Redesigned university crest sparks debate between alumni and Hong Kong lawmakers
Andrew Fung Ho-keung, director and chief executive officer of the private think tank Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, agreed that requiring an independent inquiry was unnecessary.
But he said there was indeed a “governance problem” of CUHK management reflected in this controversy.
“An emblem stands for an organisation, the management needs to be cautious if they want to change its design. There must be sufficient reasons for redesigning a logo but marking the 60th anniversary is not a good reason,” he said.
6. How has Rocky Tuan been challenged since having his term renewed?
In April, CUHK governing council resolved that Tuan would be reappointed for three years commencing January 1, 2024, while it was widely reported that three lawmakers in the council opposed the resolution.
Is Rocky Tuan a patriot? Chinese University of Hong Kong head addresses criticism
The renewal of his term drew criticism from the pro-establishment camp, with former chief executive Leung complaining that it amounted to rewarding Tuan for his questionable performance during the 2019 social unrest, when the university president showed sympathy towards protesting students.
CUHK, being plunged into intense confrontations between police and anti-government demonstrators in 2019, held a flag-raising ceremony attended by top local and mainland security officials in the city to mark the beginning of the new semester.
Analyst Fung said some lawmakers may want to use the emblem saga to challenge Tuan’s leadership, but his reappointment surely has the blessings of the city and the central government.
7. What are the lawmakers planning to do?
The three lawmakers appointed to sit on the council said they had demanded an independent investigation into the redesign process and wanted to know how much was spent on the logo, claiming the saga reflected the university’s poor governance.
Lawmaker Tommy Cheung wrote publicly that he planned to propose a private member bill in the legislature to reform the structure of the governing council.
Chinese University of Hong Kong president to stay on until 2026
Cheung suggested the council reorganise to comprise a majority of external members, individuals not being students or employees of the university, at a ratio of 2:1 relative to the number of internal members which currently take up half of the membership.
The council now has 58 members, half internal and half external.
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