Hong Kong Student Is Expelled Over ‘Democracy Wall’ Protest

(Bloomberg) -- A university in Hong Kong expelled a master's degree student and suspended another after a clash over an on-campus news bulletin.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University expelled Gerald Ho and suspended former student-union president Lam Wing-hang for one year after they confronted the school management about interfering with the content on the school's “democracy wall” bulletin board, the union said on its Facebook page.

Two other students involved were given community service orders. Ho was told that he would never again be admitted to any program offered by the university, according to the announcement.

The university declined to comment on matters related to individual students, citing privacy concerns. The school had previously expelled students who violated rules or broke the law, according to its emailed statement. The school's disciplinary committee made its decisions after hearing from the involved students and considering all the available information, it said.

In September, the student union posted material on the bulletin board to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the so-called Umbrella Movement, a demonstration against China's increased political influence in the city. PolyU's management ordered the content to be removed, which the union protested. Internal investigations against the students were subsequently launched.

Protests, and punishments of protesters, have become common on Hong Kong campuses since the 2014 Umbrella Movement, in which the city's students played a big role. Hong Kong Baptist University suspended two students last year after they complained about a compulsory Mandarin exam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Crystal Tse in Hong Kong at ctse44@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Adam Haigh, Margo Towie

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