Your correspondent Pierce Lam (Sunday Morning Post, August 20) observed that the University of Hong Kong has recently changed access for vehicles and now prevents cars owned by members of the public from entering at Kotewall Road and exiting on Bonham Road without paying a fee.
He compared Hong Kong University with other universities and said that the university, as a publicly funded institution, had an obligation to provide open campus access.
Although we are a publicly funded institution, it does not follow that all our facilities are therefore open for public use at all times.
The Hong Kong University campus is open to all. Indeed, it is considerably more open than many campuses worldwide.
Far from being a cloister and detached from the community, the campus is an essential part of the lives of many in the neighbourhood.
Every day, hundreds of members of the public enter the campus and enjoy the setting for exercise, contemplation and recreation, as well as, of course, collaboration and consultation with staff.