Hong Kong protests: Chinese University welcoming event for new starters turns into anti-government rally
- About 1,000 attend orientation day, many wearing helmets, masks and other protest movement accessories
- Organisers of event initially designed to help newcomers settle into university life say two-week class boycott will start on Monday
Hundreds of Chinese University students turned what was billed as an orientation event for newcomers into an anti-government rally ahead of next week’s planned class boycott.
Many wore black T-shirts, yellow helmets and face masks as they gathered on Wednesday at the University Mall on the Sha Tin campus, popularly known as the “Million Boulevard”.
Chinese University’s student union said as many as 1,000 students and new starters had joined the event, where they chanted anti-government slogans and voiced anger over police use of force on protesters.
They cried “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times”, which has emerged as a popular rallying call of the anti-government movement, and waved flags declaring “Hong Kong is not China”.
Wednesday’s rally came ahead of a marathon class boycott due to start next week, which is jointly organised by student unions of 10 local universities.
