HONG KONG (SE): During the intense standoff between the police and protesters at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in mid-November, principals of Catholic schools as well as Church leaders sought to seek a peaceful solution by approaching the protesters holed up inside the university campus.
Father Dominique Mukonda Kananga, chairperson of the Diocesan Youth Commission, together with some other priests and sisters entered the campus on November 21. He later shared on the Facebook page of Boiling Point that the situation inside was “heartbreaking.”
However, he wrote, “Love is everlasting and love can unite,” as he endeavoured to talk to people there. He invited people to pray for the university, its students and teachers as well as those inside the campus.
Salesian Sister Anita Kwok Ming-Ying was one of the principals who approached the secondary school students. According to a report in the Kung Kao Po, she and a group of principals met with Ip Kin-yuen, the legislator of the Education constituency and a chief executive for Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, at the Legislative Council Complex in Tamar on the afternoon of November 18. Then they proceed to join with other school principals at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Sister Kwok said as the streets in Tsim Sha Tsui were in chaos and they kept hearing explosions and the firing of tear gas, they had to speak to student protesters over the phone inside the hotel.
She said it was around midnight when they finally felt it safe to leave the hotel. They approached one of the university’s entrances and continued calling the students there. Some secondary students left the campus around 3.30am and went home in the company of their school principals after having their personal details recorded by the police.
At the time, the Polytechnic was besieged by the police who said they would arrest all people above 18-year-old inside and charge them with rioting, while the minors could leave after giving personal details, however they reserved the right to prosecute them later.
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, who had attempted in vain to enter the university on November 18, was finally allowed to enter, together with Reverend Yuen Tin-yau of Hong Kong Christian Council, on November 19 (Sunday Examiner, November 24).
He gave the media a brief statement upon arriving at the entrance of the university, saying that he was deeply worried as he heard that some young protesters in the university had considered committing suicide.
“I am really sad. There is no room for discussion before saving lives We must try our best to save lives,” he said, adding that he hoped to do his best to help the young protesters see the issues from a long-term perspective and seek a peaceful solution for the present.
Bishop Ha entered the university again on November 20 and left the campus with one protester.
According to the South China Morning Post on November 27, around 1,100 people were arrested during the incident, while about 300 minors had their personal information collected by the police.
Police entered the university on November 28 to gather evidence gathering and remove dangerous items after a two-day search by a team deployed by the university had found no more protesters on the campus grounds. The police withdrew from the campus at around noon on November 29.
