Mainland students flee Hong Kong, fear radical campus riots

Chinese mainland students studying at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) found a black curtain of terror hung over them on Friday amid the death of one of their schoolmates, with many who called Friday “evacuation day” leaving school out of safety concerns following escalating violence by black-clad mobs on campus.

Several mainland students from HKUST posted on social media Friday that “We should all flee as the university has fallen into the hands of black-clad protesters,” “Students of the HKUST are on the run, it’s evacuation day!”

After the HKUST president announced during Friday morning’s graduation ceremony the death of the student who fell from a car park, a large number of black-clad rioters, some university students and some from outside the school, vandalized university property, smashed faculty members’ offices, sprayed paint and pasted slogans smearing the police.

A mainland student at the university surnamed Zhang told the Global Times that he went back to his apartment after the university emergency broadcast announced the cancellation of afternoon classes and the graduation ceremony. HKUST also sent an email marked “urgent” to all students and faculty members to “take care and be safe.”

Another mainland student of the university said that many mainland teachers and students fled to Shenzhen or Guangzhou this weekend, and those who didn’t stayed in groups in dorms.

A mainland teacher said he hopes police could be stationed in the university not just to protect mainland faculty members and students but also to prevent the possible explosion of highly toxic chemicals.

Friday’s riots came just two days after a Chinese mainland student of the university, falsely accused of pushing a masked protester, was beaten and attacked by a crowd of mobs.