The Hong Kong Police Force said on Thursday that its National Security Department is investigating an illegal gathering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on suspicion of violating the National Security Law.
The police statement came after dozens of people, clad in black graduation gowns and face masks, took part in a protest at the campus in Sha Tin on Thursday afternoon, and chanted slogans calling for Hong Kong independence while waving separatism flags and banners.
Police said the protesters are suspected of violating the city’s National Security Law, which bans secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security
Police said the protesters are suspected of violating the city’s National Security Law, which bans secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security.
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The university reported the incident to the force, and the police take seriously all incidents in which the National Security Law is allegedly flouted on a university campus, the statement said.
The masked protesters disrupted traffic on the hilly campus by walking on the school bus lanes. Some of them even painted graffiti along the way, vandalized public property, hung placards and banners, and endangered the safety of other people on the campus.
The university said in another statement that it strongly objected to the illegal assembly and condemned it.
A graduation ceremony is a solemn occasion in which is no place for political statements and advocating political ideologies, the school said.
The university said it received no prior application from the organizers and had no idea who organized the event, further warning students to keep away from such illegal activities.
Following the unauthorized assembly, the Education Bureau strongly condemned the march organizers, who claimed to be students of the university.
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The bureau stressed that “campuses are not above the law”.
“Students and staff shall abide by the law and shall not commit acts and engage in activities that harm national security. Universities also have the responsibility to ensure their operation meets the requirements of the law as well as the interests of students and society as a whole,” it said.
The bureau also supports the university management’s decision to make a report to the law enforcement agency with regard to the incident, and its pledge to handle acts of defaming CUHK in accordance with the established procedure.
Given the still unclear pandemic situation, these activities not only neglected public health risks, but also possibly violated the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation, the bureau’s statement read.
