Democracy and peace must be achieved in Hong Kong
Statement
Available for publication
Aalto University Student Union, The Student Union of Hanken School of Economics and The National Union of University Students in Finland want to show their support and solidarity to students in Hong Kong, some of whom are still stuck on university campuses.
In Hong Kong, democracy protesters have focused their activities on the campus of Polytechnic University. There are also university students stuck on the campus. The police have surrounded the University and used force against protesters, such as tear gas. Finnish students residing in Hongkong have been advised to leave the country. Students are also advised to follow the travel advice of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The undersigned wish to express their concern for the serious risk to students’ safety at university campuses in Hongkong. The local police must do everything to ensure that students can leave the campuses safely. In addition to principles of democracy, the undersigned also stress the importance of achieving universal suffrage.
The protests that started in Hong Kong six months ago began with an opposition to a bill that would allow for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. Since then, the demonstrations have expanded into democracy protests calling for genuine and equal voting rights for the Hong Kong people in the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, among other things. The Chief Executive is currently elected by the separately elected Election Committee.
Tapio Hautamäki
Chair of the board
Aalto University Student Union
Andreas Lindén
President
Svenska Handelshögskolans Studentkår
Sanni Lehtinen
President
The National Union of University Students in Finland
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