Students returning to Hong Kong hope protest violence will stop so they can start studying again in peace
- Thousands of non-local students head back to campuses across the city after previous semester was cut short by anti-government protests
- Universities step up security arrangements as the new term approaches
Postgraduate student Reddy from India hopes to return to a calm campus when the new term starts at the University of Hong Kong later this month, after a winter of violent anti-government protests.
Peace has been largely restored at the Pok Fu Lam campus, and posters and graffiti bearing pro-democracy messages scrawled all over the campus have been mostly erased. Security checks at entrances are tight, with only students and staff allowed in.
Reddy, 21, who asked to be identified only by his surname, says he chose to come to Hong Kong two years ago because of the city’s high academic standards and its international flavour.
But a wave of demonstrations and violence on campus have disrupted his studies and made him worried about personal safety. His family back home question his decision to return.
“They are worried about me, and they ask, ‘why did you choose this particular place over elsewhere?’” he says. “I did not know it when I chose to study here. I did not know that I signed up for this.”
The city’s universities will start welcoming back students next week, including 18,060 non-local students enrolled in the city’s eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee. They account for about 18 per cent of the total student population.