Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036362/why-hong-kong-protesters-are-forcing-university-leaders-pick-side
Comment/ Opinion

Why Hong Kong protesters are forcing university leaders to pick a side – academic freedom is at stake

  • Behind public support for the protesters is the realisation that Hong Kong has paid a steep price for silence over policies that pushed integration with the mainland
  • University leaders’ failure to speak up on the extradition bill and during the early days of the protests does not bode well for academic freedom
An anti-government protester gives a thumbs up to a soldier from the People's Liberation Army, outside of their building in Admiralty. Protest continues regardless of police refusing permission for a mass march and rally by the Civil Human Rights Front. 31AUG19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

One of the factors distinguishing the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, now in their 22nd week, from the 79-day “umbrella movement” in 2014 is the level of general support protesters continue to receive from residents and non-protesters. This is all the more remarkable considering the duration of the current unrest, the extent of violent actions to which protesters have resorted and the frequent use by the police of tear gas, beanbag rounds, rubber and live bullets, and water cannons.

It is this general support that contributes to the government’s failure to quell the protests, even after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill on September 4.