Student union banned from using ‘Hong Kong Polytechnic University’ name, ordered to vacate office on school premises by July 15

A student union has been banned from using the “Hong Kong Polytechnic University” (PolyU) name and told to move out of campus after it refused to sign an agreement that would give school management the power to dismiss the body as it deemed fit.

In a statement on Friday, the PolyU student body said it “expresses deep regret over the university’s decision” to bar it from using the “Hong Kong Polytechnic University” name, adding that it had been told to clear its office on the school premises in Hung Hom by July 15.

“Now that the university has decided to no longer allow the union to use the name of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and recognise the union, it will no doubt undermine the rights of the students,” it said, adding that it had been acting as a bridge between the institution and its students for decades while looking after students’ interests.

The incident follows a pattern of universities cutting ties with their student bodies since 2021, a year after Beijing introduced the national security law in Hong Kong.

PolyU was previously one of five institutions which moved to stop collecting fees for their student unions last year, alongside Lingnan University, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Chinese University (CUHK) and City University.

According to the student body’s statement, the university had been demanding it to sign an agreement under The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ordinance for it to use its name.

But the conditions included the university’s management committee having the power to terminate the authorisation to use the school name if the body was found to have committed acts that dented the university’s reputation – a standard which the student union called “vague”.

The body said it had been working with the university on the details of that power, though no consensus was reached.