photos by peter wong / stand news | 7 mar 2019
Hundreds protest Hong Kong student’s expulsion from university in row over free speech
(source: reuters | 7 mar 2019) More than 200 protesters gathered on Thursday at a Hong Kong university to condemn the expulsion of a student defending free speech, in what was seen as another incremental sign of eroding freedoms in the Chinese-ruled city.
The latest row involved a controversy over a so-called “democracy wall” at the Polytechnic University - a public notice board, common in many Hong Kong universities, designated as a free space for expression, political or otherwise.
Last September, the university decided to cover up part of the wall after slogans advocating independence for Hong Kong were posted, prompting a group of students to storm up to the university administration offices, demanding the democracy wall be free from censorship. A skirmish broke out between the students and several guards.
After months of deliberation, four students were punished last Friday, including a post-graduate nursing student, Gerald Ho, who has openly advocated independence for Hong Kong
A former student union leader, Lam Wing-hang, was suspended from his studies for a year, while two others were ordered to do community service.
The protesters demanded the punishments be rescinded, echoing a joint statement put out by a coalition of student union bodies in more than 10 tertiary institutions demanding free speech be respected on campus.
