University of Hong Kong to convert ‘Democracy Wall’ into digital display

Skip to content The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has fenced off a “Democracy Wall” bulletin board that has been left largely empty for years as it converts it into a digital display. The “Democracy Wall” at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: CampusTV HKUSU. The wall, located outside the main library, was boarded up on Friday, media outlets reported. A notice was placed on the boards reading “sustainable campus, smarter billboards” and “coming soon.” The university told media outlets that it was digitising its bulletin boards, and will continue to publish information related to student life. Once a space where students put up notices, including pro-democracy posters and slogans, the “Democracy Wall” was stripped bare by the university in July 2021. The move came days after student union leaders stepped down following fierce criticism from the Security Bureau over comments they made praising the “sacrifice” of a man who killed himself after stabbing a police officer. The boarded up “Democracy Wall” at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: hkusenateug_cln, via Instagram. A dean of students said at the time that the operation was the result of the university’s decision earlier that year in April to sever ties with its student union, saying it would “enforce management rights” over its premises and cut all financial support. HKFP has reached out to the university for comment. Other landmarks of student activism have also disappeared over the years since the Beijing-imposed national security law was enacted in June 2020. The Pillar of Shame, a Tiananmen crackdown monument, was removed in late 2021 and has since been replaced by a seating area. Outside a university hall, a section of a bridge painted with a slogan mourning victims of the Tiananmen crackdown was covered in January 2022. The university no longer has a student union, after it stopped recognising the union in 2021 and barred it from using campus facilities. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong. More by Hillary Leung