University of Hong Kong cuts off services to student union over accusations it spread ‘propaganda’ on campus
- HKU says it has reasserted control over facilities used by the union and stopped providing it financial services, accusing the body of making ‘inflammatory and potentially unlawful public statements’
- The action comes nearly two weeks after the People’s Daily lashed out at the union for its criticism of the Beijing-imposed national security law, calling the body a ‘malignant tumour’
Hong Kong’s oldest university has moved to distance itself from its student union, reasserting control over the body’s facilities and cutting off its access to financial services over accusations the “increasingly politicised” group used the campus to spread “propaganda”.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) said in a statement on Friday that the measures were “imperative” to clearly “define the legal responsibilities” of both the school’s management and the student union, which it accused of putting the institution in legal jeopardy. It added further action would be taken “if necessary”.
“[The student union] has become increasingly politicised in recent years, utilising the university campus as a platform for its political propaganda. It has repeatedly made inflammatory and potentially unlawful public statements and unfounded allegations against the university,” HKU’s statement said.
“The undertakings of [the union] have compromised the mutual trust established over the years, to the extent of undermining the overall interests of the university and tarnishing its reputation. The university strongly condemns [the union’s] radical acts and remarks.”
Stressing that the university was “not a safe haven outside the law”, the statement went on to say that it had the responsibility to safeguard the “collective interests of all its members including staff and students”.
“It is not acceptable that the [union], an independent student organisation, disregards the university’s advice and the overall interests of the HKU community while taking advantage of the services and facilities offered by the university,” it added.