Hundreds of Taiwanese students head home after campus clashes in Hong Kong
- Parents’ fears and suspended classes force some back to the island but others are staying put
Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said on Thursday afternoon that 368 of the 1,021 Taiwanese university students in the city were leaving Hong Kong.
They included 140 from Chinese University, 70 from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 64 from Polytechnic University, and 55 from City University, the council said.
“The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) has maintained daily contact with the student associations at the local universities to see what they need. We want all of our students in Hong Kong to be safe,” he said. “If they want to come back to Taiwan, we will definitely provide necessary assistance.”
The announcement follows hours of confrontation at Chinese University on Tuesday, in an escalation of the protests marked by tear gas, rubber bullets, and petrol bombs.