HKU president forced by violent students to respond to so-called demands

University of Hong Kong president, Zhang Xiang.

Violent students of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have been forcing their president and vice-chancellor Zhang Xiang to respond to their so-called demands, including requesting Zhang to condemn the Hong Kong police.

Zhang was at an academic meeting in HKU campus on Wednesday when dozens of students wearing face masks gathered outside the meeting room, requesting Zhang to respond to their demands like Rocky Tuan, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, did.

Tuan earlier yielded to violent students and accused the Hong Kong police of using improper violence against students in an open letter, shunning violent acts of those students. This caused students of other colleges to follow suit.

After the meeting, Zhang was forced to talk to students at the staircase and answered all questions raised by the students, who, however, were still not satisfied. Some students followed Zhang and stayed outside his residence, kept forcing him to give an immediate response and requested him to talk to students in public.

Zhang said on Friday in an email to all HKU students that he hoped to organize a forum and talk to students in November.

"Repeated demands have been made of me in public announcements, setting deadlines and threatening escalating action. I care about you, my students, and none of you needs to issue an ultimatum to talk to me," Zhang said in the email.

"It is time to think differently, to work on solutions and find ways forward together," he said, adding that he has been in discussion with many people to find good ways forward, including a dialogue with students and staff, "in a format conducive to frank sharing, with trust, respect for diverse views and empathy for deep pain."