Lingnan University students’ union was ‘never’ part of the university, school’s president says
Hong Kong Free Press
Lingnan University students’ union was “never a part of” the university, the institution’s president has said.
In an interview with Sing Tao Daily published on Monday, President Joe Qin was asked about Lingnan University’s relationship with its students’ union. He responded that the student body was “an independent registered group” and could not be controlled by the university.
“In terms of relationship, we have no authority over [the students’ union]. It’s the society that can impose constraints upon them. For example, it is the organisation responsible for registering social groups that should decided whether [the union] is doing right or wrong,” Qin said, according to the Chinese-language interview.
The president added: “they were never part of Lingnan University.” In Hong Kong, the registration of societies is handled by the police.
Qin’s remarks came after several universities in the city cut ties with their students’ unions following the 2019 protests and unrest.
In late September, the Lingnan University Students’ Union Press Bureau said on Facebook that it had been told by the university not use the term “Lingnan University Press Bureau” on any publications, souvenirs or T-shirts.
The university said it had received numerous reports complaining that the term “Lingnan University Press Bureau” could be misunderstood as an official group of the university, according to the union’s post.
“Our association’s application to set up a booth on campus to sell T-shirts and distribute promotional flyers was also rejected by the school authorities,” the student body said.
Earlier last month, Lingnan University Students’ Union noted on Facebook that Hong Kong had seen many civil groups disband over the past few years and that students’ unions were facing a difficult time, with some having ceased operations and some planning to disband.
The union said it had encountered difficulties in finding like-minded people to inherit is mission, leaving it unable to form an executive council. The student body is currently run by a temporary executive council.
Qin was born in mainland China before migrating to the US in 1989. He arrived in Hong Kong in 2021 and joined the City University of Hong Kong as a professor. He became president of Lingnan University last June.
Crackdown on students’ unions
Lingnan University in July 2021 announced it would stop collecting fees on behalf of its students’ union, something that used to be commonplace at Hong Kong’s universities.
In the same year, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Students’ Union (CUSU) announced it would disband, while the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said it would stop recognising its students’ union as a registered student body after the group praised the actions of a man who killed himself after stabbing a police officer on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover to China.
“For 50 years CUSU existed as an independent student organization whose representatives were elected through a democratic process. It is a matter of profound regret that CUSU is now history,” the union said in a statement in October 2021.
In July, Hong Kong Baptist University students’ union said it had begun the process of disbanding.
According to local media outlet The Collective, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s students’ union has also dissolved, while HKU’s students’ union has ceased to run.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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