President of Hong Kong Polytechnic University Teng Jin-guang refuses to shake hands with students who wore masks during graduation ceremony
- Among 326 doctoral students who attended the degree ceremony on Sunday, two wore masks while walking up to the stage to receive their awards
- The university president, who shook hands with all other graduates, asked the two mask-wearing students to leave the stage with hand gesture
The head of Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Sunday refused to shake hands with two doctoral graduates who wore masks on stage during the annual degree-awarding ceremony.
The reaction of the university president, Teng Jin-guang, immediately drew fire from the students, who accused him of failing to respect people with different political views.
The ceremony was the first of several such events to be held by Hong Kong’s eight publicly-funded universities over the coming two months. Some student groups had appealed to graduates to wear masks, which have become symbols of anti-government protests in the city, while receiving their degree awards at the ceremonies.
In his speech to the new graduates, Teng urged all parties in Hong Kong to “enhance communication” and put an end to violence. He also said a university education should encourage people to express their views “in a respectful and rational manner”.
Among the 326 doctoral students who attended the ceremony, one wore a black mask and the other donned a surgical one while walking up to the stage.
Both of them removed their masks briefly when they bowed to university council chairman Lam Tai-fai in the middle of the stage, but wore it again as they approached Teng.
When the first student reached out to Teng for a handshake, the president refused and politely motioned her with a hand gesture to get off the stage.
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Teng, who shook hands with all the graduates who did not wear masks, stepped back again when the second mask-wearing student approached him, before gesturing for her to leave.
A university source said that during rehearsals on Sunday morning, staff from the academic registry section had reminded the graduates not to wear masks on stage to “show respect” for the event.
During his speech before the end of the 1.5-hour ceremony, Teng said the ongoing social unrest had “caused much worry” among Hong Kong people, and the university should encourage “embracing diversity”.
“At a time we are dispirited by the divisions in our society, let us also take heart and reference from what university education provides, including expressing views in a respectful and rational manner, embracing diversity and the perspectives of those from backgrounds different from ours, and observing others’ rights and our own responsibilities,” he said.
“I sincerely urge all parties to enhance communication so that all violence can be halted, our society can break the impasse, and public order can be restored.”
Teng did not take questions from the media after the event.
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One of the two students who wore a mask on stage told reporters after the ceremony that she should have the freedom to express her own views. She said Teng had not responded to the students’ demands in the past few months as well. She claimed that she wore the mask as she had been “feeling unwell”.
The university’s student union said it was planning to distribute masks during the graduation ceremonies of other faculties as well.
The union’s acting president Ken Woo Kwok-wang said he felt Teng’s gesture was “disrespectful”.
“In his speech, he said [we] should embrace diversity and different views. But as our university’s president, he could not accept different views from the graduates,” Woo said.
However, a spokeswoman of the university said the authorities had specifically requested the graduates not to wear masks on stage.
“The graduation ceremony is a solemn and grand occasion. The university expects the graduate candidates to respect the occasion and observe the protocol of the ceremony,” she said.
“The university supports the rights of individuals to express their views, but students should also respect the rule of law in an occasion.”
