Students protested on the campus of Hong Kong’s leading university yesterday after a pro-Beijing official was appointed to a senior role, as fears grow of increasing political interference in education.
Around 100 protesters left classrooms to rally at the Hong Kong University campus following the appointment of Arthur Li, known to be close with the government, as chairman of the university’s governing council last month.
The appointment taps into wider concerns that academic freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are under threat, particularly in the wake of student-led mass pro-democracy rallies in late 2014.
“We are conducting a class boycott in order to target unfairness in the system. Students have raised opposition to the appointment but the school’s autonomy is threatened,” student leader Yvonne Leung told protesters through loudspeakers.
“It’s an abuse of power,” she said.
Li, a member of Hong Kong’s executive council, the top advisory body to the government, started his three-year term on January 1. He is close to the city’s unpopular leader Leung Chun-ying, who is also the chancellor of all the city’s universities.
His appointment came after the university council rejected the nomination of liberal law scholar Johannes Chan as pro-vice chancellor at the university, sparking protests from staff, students and members of the public.
Protesters vow to boycott classes for a week.
Former British colony Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 under a deal that guaranteed the retention of its civil liberties and capitalist system for 50 years. But there are fears those freedoms are being eroded.
In 2012, tens of thousands marched against plans for “national education”, a government proposal to introduce Beijing-centric patriotic teaching in schools. The plan was later dropped.
*Tour groups to Hong Kong could shrink by as much as two-thirds in the first half of this year, an industry executive said, dealing another blow to retailers and an economy facing pressure from slowing growth in China.
China accounts for almost three-quarters of all visitors to Hong Kong, which relies on tourism for about 5% of its GDP.
Tourism numbers, however, fell last year for the first time in more than a decade and Ricky Tse, chairman of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association, told Reuters he expects a further decline this year as the strong Hong Kong dollar continues to drive mainland Chinese to comparatively cheaper destinations such as Japan and South Korea.
“The drop will continue for sure. The winter has just begun,” Tse said, adding that he expected the number of tours by Chinese visitors to fall by as much as 60% in the first half of this year after halving in 2015.
Government data shows tourist arrivals to Hong Kong fell 2.5% year-on-year in 2015 to 59.32mn, the first decline since 2003 when the city was hit by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).
This decline has hit luxury retailers including Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, Cartier owner Richemont and Burberry Group PLC, with the latest available data showing overall retail sales falling for the ninth consecutive month in November, the longest period of decline in 13 years.
Chow Tai Fook, China’s largest jewellery retailer by market value, said this month it will close 5-6 stores this fiscal year as tourism remains weak.
Brokerage CLSA report, forecast trips by mainland Chinese to Hong Kong and the neighbouring gambling hub of Macau to average 3% growth over the next five years, compared with 16% growth for all other markets.
“The move away from pure shopping trips is one of the main reasons that led to the slowdown in Hong Kong,” CLSA said in a recent report. “Looking into 2016, we believe the trend will continue.”