Pro-democracy groups plan first-ever protest at Hengqin campus

Pro-democracy activists are planning to organize their first protest at the University of Macau’s new campus in Hengqin, an area that is now under Macau’s jurisdiction.
The protest, due to be held on October 31, addresses alleged violations of academic freedom, after two Political Science professors lost their jobs for publicly expressing political views. In addition, the protest will also focus on cases of sexual assault at the University of Macau.
“We urge everyone who’s concerned about academic freedom to participate,” said Jason Chao. Yesterday the activists filed a request within the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) seeking authorization to organize the protest. They are concerned however, over a possible negative response from Macau’s authorities. “If they deny our request, we will appeal to court again,” Jason Chao revealed.
The University of Macau’s new campus in Hengqin is now operating, with students already attending classes there. Although Hengqin Island is part of mainland China, the area accommodating the new campus – which is 20 times larger than the former campus located in Taipa – is under Macau’s jurisdiction, meaning that the city’s laws and citizens’ rights are applied.
Jason Chao said that the event will be organized in an outdoor area of the campus, and he’s hoping that it will be rolled out as any other demonstration in a public space.
Protestors will be fighting for academic freedom, since two scholars have been sacked over alleged political motivations. Scholar Bill Chou, who’s an active member of the pro-democratic group New Macau Association, did not see his contract renewed with the University of Macau this year, after facing a disciplinary process for allegedly imposing political views on students.
Scholar and political scientist Eric Sautede, former professor of the University of Saint Joseph, was also sacked for sharing his political views in newspaper columns and in media interviews.
The protest will also address the matter of sexual assault, since a group of students reported the case of a professor who has been suspended for 12 days, after being accused of sexually assaulting a female student.
On Tuesday, candidates from a list running for the student union election called for the end of sexual assaults in the university, by sharing photos of posters on Facebook. The students declined to comment on the matter when asked by Lusa news agency. MDT/Lusa

Suspected sexual abuse case at UM

The online media site Macau Concealers has published articles in recent days claiming that a University of Macau (UM) teaching staff  member has received a penalty of 12 days suspension for sexually harassing a student. The Times sent an enquiry yesterday to the university. In a statement, UM replied that some online reports are “not based on facts and highly misleading.” “After receiving a report of a case, the university shall initiate a preliminary investigation. The university shall then decide as to whether to pursue a disciplinary investigation based on whether the claim is substantiated and how severe is the nature of the allegation,” UM stated. According to UM, in the past six years the university received reports of two cases involving alleged sexual harassment. Neither of the cases involved a teacher making sexual advances to a student.