A CUHK student invited fellow students to express their feelings at the graduation ceremony but was taken away by security guards | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | Graduation Ceremony | Performance Art

[New Tang Dynasty News, Beijing time, November 10, 2023]Hong Kong officials’ strict supervision of public speech has spread to university campuses. After two students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong invited their classmates to express their expectations for the school after the graduation ceremony, they were forcibly removed by security guards. There were also students who “lyed down” on campus to express their emotions, but were also forcibly removed. The school later responded that the above-mentioned behavior of the students was a “nuisance.”

“Chasing News”, an independent news platform founded by Hong Kong media professionals living overseas, reported that the Chinese University of Hong Kong held a graduation ceremony on Thursday (November 9), but President Tuan Chongzhi did not attend. After the ceremony, a large number of graduates stayed to take photos in the “Million Avenue” area where the ceremony was held.

At about 12 noon, two students appeared holding black cards with the words “I hope the future of CUHK…” and “If there is no CUHK… it will no longer be CUHK.”

The two students also distributed notes to other students, asking them to put their hopes for CUHK on black cards. Some students left messages, expressing their hope that in the future, CUHK would “be able to speak freely” and “have academic freedom.” Others left messages saying that CUHK would no longer be CUHK without the “CUHK Student Union” and “humanistic spirit.”

Unexpectedly, just ten minutes later, several school security guards and staff surrounded the two students holding cards and forcibly took them away. There were also security guards holding cameras at the scene. Some onlookers shouted angrily: “University? Humph!”

The “University Community Newspaper”, which was renamed from the “CUHK Student Newspaper”, reported the incident. Photos published in the report showed that when the two students were taken to the stairs of Franklin Hall, they were still surrounded by multiple security guards and staff. When the two students were taken away, they claimed that their actions did not violate school rules and that the placard-raising action only hoped to make students reflect on “what it means to be a CUHK person.”

At about 1 p.m. that day, another student performed performance art on campus and was also expelled. The student came to the “Beacon Tower” outside the university library and “lyed” on the ground, then covered his body with papers printed with the words “No one to talk to,” “Double loss,” and “Collective trauma.” , to express the various pressures and difficulties they face, and express their hope to remind students to take good care of themselves when facing various pressures.

About 10 minutes after the student “lyed down”, security arrived to drive him away. A student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong “lyed down” to remind his classmates to pay attention to stress and emotional problems. (Photo from CUHK’s “University Community Newspaper”) and taking photos. Some staff even squatted down next to the student to take a close-up shot, and drove the student away with excuses such as “the ground is wet”, “frozen”, and “worried about stepping on you”.

Afterwards, the CUHK issued a statement, alleging that some students “displayed slogans without permission” and accusing these students of “disrupting” the ceremony. People accuse the Chinese Communist Party of becoming more and more “mainland-style” in suppressing speech after the CCP took over Hong Kong.

(Editor: He Yating)

URL of this article: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/11/09/a103821490.html