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In just three months, there occurred inside and outside the campus of Hong Kong University a referendum run by the Students’ Union, a staff plus student voting, and two Extraordinary General Meetings held by the HKU Convocation. The campus has suddenly turned “democratic”.

In my humble view, student movements in Hong Kong which started in the 70s have already declined in the 80s. What happened in 1989 was an accident, driven entirely by external events occurring in Beijing. By the 90s, students’ voice had almost vanished. The Polling Incident which happened in 2000 simply looked like a family event in HKU. Since the 70s, I have worked and lived in the campus. What I see is constant campus urbanization and lifestyle secularization. Few talk about ideals these days.

From a developmental perspective, university students’ turning from elites to become ordinary beings might well be inevitable. In advanced democratic societies, the burden of social change might well rest on the shoulders of political parties or groups. However, when Hong Kong is yet to become affluent, and the motherland yet to overcome its problems, there is no reason why people in universities which breed intellectuals should enjoy a happy life before everybody does.

All along I have been saying, those with a doctorate degree may not be real intellectuals, while many of those without are often knowledgeable people with great visions and moral standards much much higher than many holders of “short cut doctorates” and “honourary degrees”. They are the true intellectuals.

The Umbrella Movement last year has awakened many university teachers and students. Whether they supported, opposed, or stayed neutral to the movement, they have thought it through, and lived it through. Unfortunately, after the movement, those in power have not taken heed of these intellectuals’ contemplation, but rather engaged themselves in helping some stealthy plans of retaliation.

The beauty of university lies in its openness and accommodation. The value of academic freedom and university autonomy lies in its respect for different opinions and non-restriction of ideas. Provided that the ideas are put rationally and gracefully, anything can be said and debated. Unfortunately, this ethics of complete openness is now gradually eroded by the practices of classified documents, confidentiality agreements, private dialogues, and so on. This is mutation, top down.

The system has toppled. Those in power have used every bit of power they have. This corrodes the good tradition of universities. Teachers now march in silence, students challenge authority. Between eggs and the hard wall, kind people would of course sympathize the weak. However, I still consider it important for intellectuals to maintain a polite and civilized mentality, even when facing bullies and hypocrites, in order to convince people with reasons and self demonstration.

If we can change the rotting system, that would be wonderful. If not, we should at least attempt to develop some better alternatives, like civil referendums. Provided that our campus mutation is not yet terminal, we may not need to sacrifice ourselves with a bang.