Freedom of Political Speech for All Students
How university protests are causing safety concerns for both international and domestic students.
Moving into the fourth month of the Hong Kong protests surrounding the controversial pro-democracy rallies, the situation doesn’t look like it will end any time soon. These protests have recently brought attention to freedom of political speech issues in Australian universities and how involvement in political protests can cause safety concerns for students, staff and those around them.
These protests triggered by the extradition bill plan in June quickly spread and developed into riots between the police and the pro-democracy people of Hong Kong. Citizens are demanding democratic reform and spreading their message via protests all over the city. These protests have gained a massive amount of media coverage over the past few months, particularly in August when protesters gathered at the Hong Kong airport and caused a temporary closure, disrupting hundreds of flights.
With social media being used to spread awareness of these pro-democracy rallies, some university students are participating and forming political protests on campus. One campus in Brisbane gained international media attention after videos were taken at a protest and distributed on social media and news sites. On Wednesday the 24th of July, two protests took place at the University of Queensland campus, the first being a peaceful protest where students created a Lennon Wall and left messages with demands and activist notes. The video below shows the second protest becoming violent when pro-Chinese government students clashed with the pro-democracy group.
After footage of the protest circulated on social media, concerns were raised for the safety of the students involved and even the bystanders. Protest organiser Drew Pavlou, a Philosophy student at UQ received death threats online the day before the protest and also the days after.
Another alarming intimidation tactic took place in mainland China days after the UQ protest when the Chinese authorities approached the family of a student and warned them that there would be consequences if their son continued to participate in political dissent and pro-democracy protests.
“I was in the protest. When people were recording I was doing my best to hide my face or stay away from the crowd,” the student told The Sydney Morning Herald.
This confirmed the fears of many UQ students that the Chinese authorities were watching. Many international students decided not to participate in the protests due to fears of being identified and having their information published on Chinese site ‘Weibo’ or being a target of an online ‘doxxing’ attack.
Like many other international students who participated in the campus protests, Phoebe is also fearing for her own safety. She now wears a cleaning mask while protesting in the hope that she will not be identified. Hoping to one day return to her home country, Phoebe wants to protest for the freedom and values of the people in Hong Kong, but she worries that voicing her opinions will do her harm.
“I’m worried that if the Hong Kong government or the Chinese government find out who I am, then I may not be able to go home,” she told SBS reporters.
Freedom of political speech has become a paramount value in Australian university culture, although for some international students they feel as if their right to speak is limited by the Chinese government. In August Dan Tehan, the Education Minister spoke out about the university protests explaining that the right to freedom of speech and lawful protest is protected in Australia, also stating that the universities have a duty to their students and staff to shelter them from threats and intimidating behaviour that could stem from freedom of speech and expressing political opinions.
After the protests, UQ Vice Chancellor Peter Høj responded to questions from the protestors about the university, explaining that UQ is committed to freedom of speech and supporting all students affected by the protests. On the day of the protests UQ also posted on Facebook in response to the situation which sparked thousands of students to comment in support of freedom of political speech.
With attention being brought to protests at Australian universities and causing safety concerns for students, it is more important than ever for universities to protect their staff and students while also ensuring there is a safe environment for people to speak freely and voice their political opinions regardless of their chosen stance.
