HONG KONG: A Hong Kong university ordered its student union to shut down after a message was posted on campus expressing condolences and urging justice for the victims of a major fire, according to a letter publicly shared on Friday (Dec 5).
The blaze that ripped through Wang Fuk Court in the city’s northern Tai Po district last week killed at least 159 people and was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980.
The Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) said it will “suspend the operations” of the student union acting executive committee with immediate effect and take over their facilities, according to a letter shared on social media by the union on Friday.
The school cited reasons such as a lack of representation and poor financial management, which the union called “unfounded and arbitrary”.
“The university’s irrational action raises concerns about potential ulterior motives behind this forced suspension,” the union said in a statement.
Social media users circulated photos on Tuesday of a message stuck onto a student union-run notice board, nicknamed the “democracy wall”, which expressed condolences for those killed in the fire.
The unsigned message continued: “We are Hongkongers. Urge the government to be receptive and respond to public demands so justice can be done.”
The wall was blocked off with tall barricades on Wednesday, an AFP reporter saw.
Source: CNA
