《TAIPEI TIMES》 HK support riles Chinese students

By Wu Po-hsuan, Hung Ting-hung and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writer

Chinese students this week were involved in two incidents of alleged bullying and acts of intimidation on Taiwanese campuses over the Hong Kong protests.

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A fourth-year political science student at Soochow University in Taipei who wished only to be identified as Jackson on Thursday said that his classmates created a “solidarity wall” to voice their support for the Hong Kong protesters, which had been approved by school officials.

On Wednesday morning, students found the bulletin board vandalized and written over with messages in traditional Chinese that made disparaging remarks about people who support Taiwanese and Hong Kong independence, he said.

CCTV footage showed that six people committed the act in the previous night and the incident had been reported to the university, he said.

When asked for comment, the university said that a male Chinese student had reported himself to the university military instructor for his role in the incident and to apologize on behalf of the students involved.

The student, whose name has been withheld, said he and his compatriots took offense because the bulletin board was insulting to their nation, the university said, adding that the six subsequently posted a written apology on the board.

The bulletin board has doubled in size since the incident and students have asked the university for it to remain for another three weeks, sources said.

On Tuesday, a Chinese student surnamed Zhang （張） allegedly engaged in an act of physical aggression toward a student from Hong Kong at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung, an anonymous user said on the online message board Dcard.

The Hong Konger put multiple notes of support for the protests on a dormitory’s solidarity wall, which incensed Zhang, who also lived in the dorm, the user said.

After days of verbal spats, Zhang allegedly tore up the notes and attacked the Hong Kong student when the latter tried to stop him, the user said, adding that Zhang was seen attempting choke the student from Hong Kong.

The university corroborated the details of the story, but added that Zhang had apologized to the student from Hong Kong in the presence of the university’s military instructor at the Kaoshiung Police Department’s Sipu Station （溪埔）.

The university has opened a disciplinary hearing about Zhang’s conduct, it added.

“Universities are places of education, thinking and debate that respect differences of opinion. Verbal or physical bullying are unacceptable and they will not be tolerated,” Ministry of Education Department of Higher Education Director-General Chu Chun-chang （朱俊彰） said on Thursday.

The Department of International and Cross-Strait Education also issued a statement, saying universities have a duty to intervene when a student is harassed or bullied and to report such incidents to the ministry.

Additional reporting by Rachel Lin

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES