'We May Seek Government Help To Restore Order': CUHK

The President of the Chinese University, Rocky Tuan, says the institution has been taken over by masked outsiders, and warned the university may have to seek help from the government to tackle the current crisis if it is no longer able to carry out its mission.

However, he didn’t give any more details on what this government help would entail, or which departments might furnish this assistance.

In an open letter, Tuan said the situation is “unacceptable” and “out of control”, and called on all outsiders to leave the university immediately. He also urged university staff to leave campus until order is restored.

Tuan said over the past few days, thousands of masked individuals – most of whom he believes aren’t CUHK students, had heeded online calls to gather at the university.

The university chief said since their ‘takeover’, there had been a flurry of illegal activity on campus. He said petrol bombs are being manufactured, and stockpiles of bricks being built up. He also accused the masked individuals of commandeering school buses and campus vehicles and stealing flammable substances from laboratories.

Tuan said these activities pose a severe threat to public safety.

The CUHK president added the fact that everybody going in and out of the university are searched and required by masked protesters to produce identity documents is causing panic and fear among university members, saying it is an infringement of peoples’ freedoms.

He said the university has now decided to end the semester early, adding that all efforts are being made to help students and staff leave the campus.

At a regular press briefing, the police said officers are continuing to monitor the situation at universities and will ‘definitely’ intervene if things get worse.

Late on Friday, the heads of nine universities urged the government to take charge in resolving the political deadlock and restoring order.

In a joint statement, the university presidents said universities have become political battlefields, with several campuses controlled by protesters, hazardous materials being taken, and staff and students leaving.

They said the government response has not been effective, and any demand that universities can fix the problem is "disconnected from reality".

CUHK was transformed into a virtual war zone on Tuesday night after police officers fired thousands of tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at students and protesters defending a bridge overlooking the Tolo Highway.

Masked protesters hurled hundreds of petrol bombs in return, setting much of the bridge on fire.

Police argued they were only trying to stop protesters from hurling objects onto the Tolo Highway and MTR tracks below, but students and protesters insisted the police had tried to intrude into their campus.

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