HKU vice-chancellor tells higher education forum Occupy movement was ‘most polite and organised’ protest he’s ever seen
SHIRLEY.ZHAO@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Friday, 17 June, 2016, 6:14pm
Mathieson was in his first year on the job at HKU when the civil disobedience movement began. Photo: SCMP Pictures
The city should be proud of its youth and not worry about them, a top official at the University of Hong Kong said on Friday.
University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson called the protests arising from the pro-democracy Occupy movement of 2014 “the most polite and organised” he had ever seen.
Speaking at a forum on higher education organised by Education Post, Mathieson characterised student activism as a global phenomenon.
“The idea that this protest in Hong Kong is something really malicious and a sign of a deterioration of the Hong Kong youth provides me with some amusement,” he said.
“Hong Kong should be proud of its young, not worried” about them, he added.
Many in the city have criticised the younger generation recently for becoming more extreme in the run-up to and aftermath of Occupy, contending a number of them are siding with radical pro-independence groups.
Mathieson speaking before students and media during the Occupy movement of 2014. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Mathieson condemned HKU students’ momentary “mob rule” when they besieged a governing council meeting in January to press for a review of its governance structure and demand a face-to-face meeting with council chairman Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung.
However, Mathieson said after the forum he did not view local youth as extremists or particularly troublesome.
“If you look worldwide, I think the Hong Kong youth have much to be proud of,”
PETER MATHIESON, HKU VICE-CHANCELLOR
“I think everything needs to be calibrated,” he said. “Hong Kong is not the only place where students are active and wanting to express themselves.”
“People in Hong Kong tend to compare maybe their expectations here with the traditional path,” he continued. “But if you look worldwide, I think the Hong Kong youth have much to be proud of.”
Baptist University’s vice-chancellor Professor Roland Chin Tai-hong, also speaking at the forum, said it was necessary for young people to consider social issues and articulate their disappointment.
Chin said it was fine for them to become radical in their views, but he said he did not support physical violence.
“There should be discussions about the left, the middle and the right,” he said. “The more things are debated, the clearer they will become ... It is not right to tell students not to discuss this or that, [otherwise] society will not progress.”
Chin said all topics could be discussed, including Hong Kong independence. But he argued it should not be brought about if it breached the law.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1976906/be-proud-young-hongkongers-and-not-worried-about-them-top
