Hong Kong national security police raid university student union as part of investigation into stabbed officer motion

Police enter student union office on HKU campus and cordon off surrounding area; officers also search the on-site premises of student media

University previously cut ties with the union over its response to Causeway Bay knife attack and condemned students for ‘serious misconduct’

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Hong Kong’s national security police outside the student union office at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 3:45pm, 16 Jul 2021Updated: 11:28pm, 16 Jul 2021

National security police have raided the offices of the student union and campus media at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) after youth leaders formally expressed appreciation for the “sacrifice” of a man who stabbed an officer before killing himself.

A police source said detectives were investigating whether the student leadership had advocated or incited terrorism under Article 27 of the national security law, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The operation was launched three days after the university severed all ties with the union, accusing its leaders of “serious misconduct” for passing the since-withdrawn motion and strongly condemning them for “blatantly whitewashing violence, challenging the moral bottom line of our society, and damaging the reputation and interests of the entire HKU community”.

Police moved on the student union office at the Pok Fu Lam campus at about 3.15pm, extending their search to other floors of the union building and parts of the university housing the video production team Campus TV and magazine Undergrad, both of which are run by students.

No union members were in the office at the time, nor were they spotted in the vicinity. The chairmen of the two media outlets are also members of the Students’ Union Council, which passed last week’s motion in tribute to the dead knifeman.