Hong Kong – HKSAR Government strongly condemns Christian Zheng Sheng Association for harbouring wanted former directors

     The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) accords great importance to students’ interests, and has placed the welfare of the teachers and students of the Christian Zheng Sheng College (the College) as a top priority.  Noting that the newly formed Board of Directors (the Board) of the Christian Zheng Sheng Association (the Association) claimed in its urgent statement on June 12 this year that it would make decisions relating to the College with a responsible attitude, the Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau immediately met with the Board. To our dismay, we found that the Board did not substantiate its claims, and there are reasons to question the truthfulness of its claims that it has cut all ties with its former directors Lam Hay-sing and Alman Chan Siu-cheuk, who have absconded from Hong Kong. There are three points uncovered from the meeting that are worth paying attention to:

(1)  The Board claimed that the suspension of the College’s operation was due to financial difficulties. However, the Board, after a reorganisation, immediately passed a resolution at its first meeting refusing to recover the funds amounting to over $50 million, which were raised in the name of the College and transferred abroad by Lam Hay-sing and Alman Chan Siu-cheuk earlier. At the meeting, the Board again refused to recover the money concerned, which clearly shows that the Board has no intention to help the teachers and students of the College, and it is suspicious that the Board is trying to harbour the absconders.

(2)  On June 12, the Board claimed that it has cut all ties with Lam Hay-sing and Alman Chan Siu-cheuk, and that the two persons have no power to direct the Board’s decisions. The fact is that the two wanted persons are still Board members of the “Christian Zheng Sheng College Limited” and/or the “Zheng Sheng Charities Limited” under the Association, and can also operate the bank accounts of the Association and its subsidiaries.

(3)  The current Board has taken up office for around two months since mid-April, but has neither proposed any specific measures to resolve the problems faced by the College, nor shown any commitment and capacity to manage the College. As stated in point (1) above, notwithstanding that the College is facing an acute crisis, the Board refused to recover the funds from the two absconders Lam Hay-sing and Alman Chan Siu-cheuk, which was raised in the name of the College in Hong Kong earlier. Instead, the Board passed a questionable resolution and issued an inaccurate statement to mislead the public.

     The Board has not fulfilled its role and duty, and harbours wrongdoers. The HKSAR Government strongly condemns the vile actions of the Board and has completely lost faith in it. Relevant government departments would provide the most appropriate assistance and arrangements for students who are leaving the College, and law enforcement agencies would investigate in, and follow up on, matters concerning the Association and the College in accordance with the law.