200 protest Hong Kong student's expulsion from a university in row over free speech
A skirmish broke out between the students and several guards, the protesters demanded the punishment be rescinded
Hong Kong — More than 200 protesters gathered on Thursday at a Hong Kong university to condemn the expulsion of a student defending free speech, in what was seen as another incremental sign of eroding freedoms in the city. Hong Kong, a former British colony, reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy and civil liberties including academic freedoms and free speech not permitted in mainland China. But since the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Revolution street occupations that blocked major roads, there has been a gradual tightening of civil liberties and individual rights, especially against a younger generation of student activists who spearheaded the protests. The latest row involved a controversy over a so-called democracy wall at the Polytechnic University — a public notice board, common in many Hong Kong universities — designated as a free space for expression, political or otherwise. Last September, the university decided to cover up part of th...
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