HONG KONG - The University of Hong Kong’s governing body voted on Tuesday to fire Benny Tai Yiu-ting.

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The HKU Council, chaired by Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, made the decision on a vote of 18-2

The HKU Council, chaired by Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, made the decision on a vote of 18-2.

The HKU Council meeting was held to discuss whether it was appropriate for Tai to continue in his teaching post at the prestigious university in view of his involvement in many court cases.

Tai, an associate professor at the university’s law school, was sentenced last year to 16 months in prison for his role in the illegal “Occupy Central” movement in 2014. He was later granted bail pending his appeal.

Earlier, Tai had come under fire for co-organizing the opposition camp’s “primary” polls to select Legislative Council election hopefuls with better chances of winning the election. Through the move, the camp is attempting to win a simple majority in the 70-member Legislative Council and use the majority to vote down all the government’s proposed legislation.

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In a written response to a query from China Daily, lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan said the university's decision was overdue because Tai is not qualified to be teaching, given his actions over the years.

“Tai has been misleading youngsters, instigating violence, spreading hatred, and sowing discord in society,” Quat said.

What he has done has ruined many generations, and people like Tai, with such low moral standards, should have been deprived of his job a long time ago, she added.

Quat also questioned Tai’s attempt to manipulate the upcoming LegCo election through the opposition camp’s “primary”. In her opinion, the vote, which Quat said damaged the election’s fairness, may have violated the National Security Law for Hong Kong by agitating subversion of State power.

Quat is seeking another term in the New Territories East Constituency. By 5 pm on Tuesday, 14 other candidates had also registered in the same constituency. They are: Lam Hak-lam, Chan Yuk-ngor, Wong Siu-kin, Chan Hak-kan, Lau Wing-hong, Yeung Ngok-kiu, Chan Chi-chuen, Fan Kwok-wai, Lee Tsz-king, Lam Cheuk-ting, Chiu Pui-yuk, Lee Kai-tik, Chow Ka-shing, and Ho Kwai-lam.