Hong Kong university to take no action over banner

Radio Free Asia 08 October 2016

A top Hong Kong university said last week it wouldn't take action against students who hung a pro-independence banner on its campus to mark Chinese National Day, in spite of calls from the city's chief executive to sanction any talk of independence in universities, reports Radio Free Asia.

University of Hong Kong Vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson said the banner, which read "Hong Kong independence", had been removed because it was unauthorised, however. "If those banners are hung without permission, then we have the right to take them down," Mathieson told reporters. "That’s what happened at the weekend [and] as far as I know, that’s where it stops."

Similar banners, which were provided by the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party, appeared in several higher education institutions as dignitaries celebrated the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Saturday. Most were rapidly removed.
Full report on the Radio Free Asia site

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