Hong Kong Economist Apologises After Gender-Bias Backlash Over Campus Talk

Terence Chong Tai-leung, an associate professor of economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has apologised after students accused him of making gender-biased remarks during a campus talk. Chong delivered the presentation at the university’s bi-weekly assembly on Tuesday. The talk examined how people could invest in their lives and included discussion of women “marrying for money”, according to the supplied report.

The backlash emerged shortly after the event. Posts on the social-media platform Threads said that slides used by Chong included the subject, prompting criticism from students who viewed the remarks as gender-biased. Chong subsequently apologised.

The supplied material does not include the wording of his apology, explain whether he withdrew or amended any part of the presentation, or state whether the university has opened an inquiry. It also does not give the full contents of the slides or record responses from the university, student groups or other academics. The report ends while introducing further details about the presentation.

The available facts therefore establish that the talk triggered criticism, that students connected the criticism to its treatment of women and money, and that Chong apologised. They do not establish the wider context of his argument or whether any disciplinary action will follow.