Government 'won't interfere' with universities

The government will not interfere in universities' handling of a forthcoming class boycott by pro-democracy students, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor says.

And Lam also denied that a meeting she held with university chiefs yesterday was an attempt to press them to take a tougher line on students who will skip class for a week over Beijing's tough framework for reform.

"We will respect the autonomy of universities in handling the matter in an appropriate way," she said after the meeting.

The timing of the meeting - a week before the boycott begins on Monday - had raised concerns that the government was seeking to interfere, after several universities promised to respect students' right to skip class and help them catch up on missed studies. The boycott was announced after Beijing set tight restrictions on the 2017 chief executive election.

But Lam said the boycott was only one of a number of issues touched on in almost an hour and a half of discussions, and said the meeting was set up to gather views on education policy.

She urged students to be calm and rational, and express their demands in a lawful way, without putting pressure on those who opted not to join their campaign.