The post-National Security Law era of the Hong Kong school movement has reached the end of the road?
Lam Rui-wan: Before banning us, he (Duan Zongzhi) gave a righteous interview to the media and said, “We will not give up on the young people”.
The former president of the Chinese University Student Union, Lin Rui gong, said that the student organizations are helpless in the face of the regime’s suppression. He criticized the university for “saying one thing but doing another” under the National Security Law, emphasizing on the one hand that the university’s freedom of speech remains unchanged, but on the other hand, dissident voices are not allowed to exist on campus.
The university issued a statement reiterating its absolute respect for academic and freedom of expression, but pointed out that members of the university must respect and abide by the law when expressing their views, and also said that “any violation will be dealt with strictly”.
The cabinet of the CUHK Student Union Officers’ Association “Sakuya” was elected earlier this month with nearly 4,000 votes, but was banned by the university in disguise. The university has informed the student union that it will suspend the collection of student union dues; the student union will have to register as an independent association or company and assume legal responsibility; and the university will suspend administrative and university space support for the student union officers.
University campuses are already full of surveillance cameras
In the face of the National Security Law, Hong Kong’s academic movement is at a low ebb, and the space for political discussion on campus is becoming increasingly limited. For example, the former student union of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was disciplined by the university after holding a memorial service for students who died in the anti-SEC movement, and the former student union of the University of Hong Kong was warned by the university for holding a screening of the documentary “The Earth is Thick and the Sky is High” by the former spokesperson of the “Local Front for Democracy”, Leung Tin-kei. “illegal”. Nowadays, many tertiary institutions have not elected their student unions. After the suppression of the CUHK student union, only the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is left with a cabinet successfully elected, how much room is left for the survival of student organizations in Hong Kong? The former vice president of external affairs of CUHK student union, Luo Ziwei, said this.
Lo Chi-wai: Is the student union going to turn back into a “welfare club” (short for “club”)? I don’t think so. It’s not just a “welfare club”, it’s a club that’s close to being in line with the regime. What he wants is a “stability maintenance bank”.
The students also noticed that after the university called the police on the graduation ceremony march earlier, the university is increasingly liquidating students who participate in uncooperative movements, and there are more closed-circuit televisions in various parts of the campus.
I believe that these CCTVs are not only for CUHK, but also for outside organizations to monitor and monitor the behavior and thoughts of students. This is something that gives us a chill.”
Former CUHK Student Union President Lin Ruiyan (left) and former CUHK Student Union Vice President of External Affairs Luo Ziwei (right). (Photo by Cheung Chin-ho)
The “red era” of Hong Kong’s academic movement cannot be separated from patriotic sentiments
In the past half century, the most intense social movements in Hong Kong were also known as the “red years” of the student movement. From the anti-British riots in 1967, to the June 4 massacre in 1989, to the handover of sovereignty in 1997, the movements and ideas of Hong Kong university students were inseparable from the blood ties between mainland China and Hong Kong people. Tao Junxing, former Standing Committee Member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and President of the Chinese Academy for Democracy, said that the academic movement in Hong Kong was closely linked to the development of China in the past.
Tao Junxing: “In the past, the student movement in Hong Kong had a lot to do with China, even in 1989, the focus was on China because we wanted democracy in China. At that Time, we would have a little more patriotic sentiment.”
This sentiment of Hong Kong university students towards mainland China has also seen an essential shift in their view of China in the last decade, that is, as Beijing has tightened its policy towards Hong Kong across the board and reneged on its promise to give Hong Kong people autonomy and universal suffrage. Tao Junxing believes that the change in the academic movement began with the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.
Tao Junxing: “In the 1940s, students were deceived by the Chinese Communist Party and thought that they were fighting for the oppressed. Later we realized that the change in China, more importantly, was about the 1989 democracy movement. We then recognized the face of the Chinese Communist Party, which is that it is not very different from a dictatorship.”
Where do student organizations go as the government accelerates integration between China and Hong Kong?
Shenzhen University President Li Qingquan proposed Tuesday (9), China and Hong Kong universities in the future to promote two-way exchanges, is conceived to set up branch campuses in Hong Kong, Hong Kong universities can also run schools in the mainland. In other words, Hong Kong’s post-secondary Education should also be integrated with the mainland.
With the implementation of Beijing’s full authority in Hong Kong, the academic freedom of Hong Kong’s university campuses is shrinking day by day, so what else can the Hong Kong student movement do? Tao Junxing admits that in the post-state security law era, the government will crack down on student organizations at the first sign of trouble, but believes that as long as the political conflicts remain unresolved, “the movement will come back”.
Tao Junxing: “As long as the political problems and conflicts in Hong Kong are not resolved, the movement will come again, although it may not be manifested through student organizations. Because after the National Security Law, the interaction between schools and students can be seen, schools also suppressed, students are not allowed to venture.”
Lin Ruiyuan believes that even though student organizations are being suppressed, but firmly believes that even if the space is fine, there will still be a way out, “must not have reached the end of the road”.
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