Hundreds of Students Protest at Baptist University over Mandarin Language Test

At least 200 students protested at Hong Kong Baptist University on the afternoon of Friday, January 26, speaking out against the suspension of two students who were involved in a Mandarin language test controversy.The incident began in mid-January after about 70 percent of Baptist students discovered that they had failed a Mandarin proficiency test, a necessary component to graduate. Mandarin is the official language of Mainland China, while Cantonese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong.According to reports from South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Free Press, 30 students protested at the school’s language center and student union president Lau Tsz-kei and another student, Andrew Chan Lok-hang, were caught on camera yelling at staff members. Both Lau and Chan were temporarily suspended on January 24.Hong Kong Baptist University’s student union organized Friday’s protest in support of Lau and Chan and chanted various slogans against the school administration, including “shame on oppressing students,” Hong Kong Free Press reported.This footage shows the students chanting and congregating on the school grounds and professor Clayton MacKenzie, Baptist University’s Provost, can be seen in another video. Student representatives gave him a petition letter at the conclusion of the protest and MacKenzie said that he would consider their demands to reverse the suspensions of Lau and Chan. Credit: SocREC via Storyful