HKU bars union meeting attendees from campus

The University of Hong Kong’s governing council said on Wednesday it was banning all students who attended a controversial meeting of the students’ union council from the campus.

During the July 7 meeting in question, the students’ union council passed a motion expressing sadness over the death of a man who knifed a police officer on July 1 and then stabbed himself.

The union’s council has since apologised for the motion, with four executive committee members resigning from their posts.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the HKU Council said it accepted recommendations made by a panel it appointed to look into the impact of the incident.

“It was pointed out that the act of HKUSU Council passing the resolution on July 7 might be in violation of the law, as the incident is now under investigation by the police, and the continued presence of the group of HKUSU concerned on campus would pose serious legal and reputational risks to the University and have negative impact on its other members,” it said.

The HKU Council said immediate risk containment measures must be imposed in light of the gravity of the matter.

It said it had requested university management bar the students involved from entering the university campus and using its facilities and services until further notice.

University management have also been told to closely monitor the risk arising from the incident and to report to the HKU Council when appropriate, the statement said.

On July 16, more than a dozen national security police officers raided the students’ union office, three days after Chief Executive Carrie Lam called for action against student leaders at the institution.