Hong Kong Polytechnic University students end hunger strike over bulletin board which carried pro-independence signs
Union and officials reach agreement over management of ‘Democracy Wall’
Three students at Polytechnic University ended their two-day-old hunger strike on Sunday afternoon after resolving a dispute with campus chiefs over a bulletin board where pro-independence messages were posted.
Both PolyU and the students released separate statements at about 5pm, but did not explain how they had come to an agreement.
The row began almost two weeks ago after the union temporarily relaxed rules for posting messages on the board – the so-called Democracy Wall – following the government’s unprecedented ban on the separatist Hong Kong National Party (HKNP).
After the changes, some pro-independence messages went up on the board. Two PolyU ultimatums to restore the wall were ignored, and school officials eventually covered the material with red paper. There was no indication that the union was behind – or supported – the independence advocacy. It accused the officials of suppressing free speech.
“[The student union] has agreed to restore the wall to its original mode of operation and manage the wall in accordance with the rules and regulations agreed by both parties,” the university’s statement said.
