University of B.C. exchange students leave Hong Kong amid turmoil

VANCOUVER— The University of British Columbia says it has cancelled its second term for exchange students in Hong Kong while it ensures the remainder of its students in the protest-racked region can get out.

The university says 31 of its students were attending four universities in Hong Kong, where protests have grown increasingly violent, and now 20 of them have been able to leave the area.

Vice-president for student affairs Ainsley Carry says all of the remaining 11 students are safe and accounted for with six having firm departure plans, two working on travel plans and three staying in the area with family.

The students are being offered $1,000 in emergency funds to help them in their travels and the university says 27 of them have accepted the cash. The university says it will work with students affected by the cancellation of the second exchange term to provide a number of options that will include switching to another university or deferring or withdrawing from their exchange.

Last week, Hong Kong Polytechnic University became the latest battle ground in protests that began peacefully in June before turning violent with clashes between police and protesters. Police blockaded the university after hundreds of students occupied the campus. Laurinda Tracey, UBC’s adviser for student safety abroad, says the university does not have a partnership with Hong Kong Polytechnic and it’s not one of the universities that was hosting UBC students in Hong Kong.

Protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory were sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed certain criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China to face charges, a move that opponents viewed as a blow to Hong Kong’s legal independence.

The bill has been suspended, but the protests now demand universal suffrage and amnesty for arrested protesters.