Hong Kong University students boycott classes for a week

13,000 assemble at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong colleges and universities initiated a boycott of classes to protest the National People’s Congress plan for political reform. September 22 was the first day of the boycott, and the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholars organized a rally at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

It started at noon, every striking school planned its own activities, then at 2 p.m. they all congregated at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for a collective rally.

At 2 p.m. all kinds of boycott activities had started at Chinese University. Scrolls, propaganda sheets filled the university building lobbies. Then students from all the schools arrived, raising high their own school banners.

Before 3 p.m. there were students from 24 universities and they’d filled the university square. 17 social interest groups also participated.

The leader of the student and scholar’s federation Zhou Yongkang read out the class boycott declaration, and put forward four demands: Demand that the next round of political reform allows citizens to nominate candidates; Demand reform of functional constituency-based legislative council reform; Demand CY Leung (Liang Zhenying) and his advisers take the blame and resign; Demand the National People’s Congress revoke their unjust ruling and apologize to the people of Hong Kong.

The students and scholars federation proposes “boycott classes but don’t boycott learning.” Hundreds of faculty also supported the students. They also proposed a “citizens classroom.” On Monday September 22, 2014 after the assembly ended, the citizens classroom already started. From Tuesday to Friday, in places including several of the central government’s offices, many professors and students went on having a very fruitful discussion.

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/taiwan/2014/09/201409231038.shtml