UM students protest during union inauguration

Two students from the University of Macau (UM) held up a sign during the inauguration ceremony of the university’s students’ union, held yesterday. The sign called on the union to take a tough stance and continue to pressure university administration to come clean on the alleged political oppression within UM.
According to All About Macau, one of the protesting students, Lam Ka Sin, said that they wanted the public to keep focusing on the alleged suppression of former UM professor Bill Chou. “I hope that the students’ union will remember that students did make a request [for the union to take a stance] and it is the union’s responsibility to give a response,” she said.
Unlike the previous protest staged at a UM graduation ceremony last year, where a protesting student and a journalist from Macau Concealer were taken away by university security, the two protesting students were able to raise the sign three times without being interrupted.
Kiang Hao Chi, UM’s newly inaugurated student union director general, thanked the students for expressing their opinion. He said that students “should be in charge of the university”. “We want a democratic students’ union and we have to pass this [tradition] on here,” he expressed.
It is reported that UM rector Zhao Wei did not look at the protestors once. After the ceremony, the rector was also asked about the recently emerged rumors that more female students had fallen victim to sexual harassment, with the perpetrator alleged to be a senior faculty member. Prof Zhao said that UM “absolutely opposes” sexual harassment and “will investigate [the accusation] seriously and in accordance with the proper procedures.” JPL