A History of Student Movements at HKUST: The Students' Union and Major Campus Events

Note on scope (nothing found to report) HKUST (founded 1991) is among the younger universities in Hong Kong, and its documented history of student movements is comparatively thin. At the time of the 1989 Tiananmen events, HKUST had not yet formally enrolled students (the first cohort matriculated in October 1991); consequently there is no record found of participation in 1989 solidarity activities under the identity of an "HKUST student" — the broader Hong Kong solidarity history of that period is documented by other institutions. On language-of-instruction policy, likewise no record found of any documented student-led policy movement. On environmental and campus-life issues, there are officially recorded student sustainability societies, but no record found of any documented student protest action.

# 1. Founding of the Students' Union (1991–1992)

According to the English Wikipedia^※ and the Chinese Wikipedia^※, after HKUST's first cohort of students enrolled in October 1991, students began organising to form a union to represent the whole university. The preparatory committee's charter went through two rounds of general referendum and revision before being adopted on 24–25 November 1992. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students' Union (HKUSTSU) was formally established on 27 November 1992^※, registered with the Hong Kong Police Force as an independent society under the Societies Ordinance, and not affiliated with the university.

The student publication Wings (振翅)^※ had already begun publishing before the union's formal founding: according to the Chinese Wikipedia, its inaugural issue was published on 2 December 1991. Wings has since been published by the union's editorial board, and back issues have been archived to the university's digital repository in cooperation with the university library.

# 2. Evolving relationship with the Hong Kong Federation of Students (1991–2013)

The relationship between the HKUST Students' Union and the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) evolved over more than two decades.

According to the Chinese Wikipedia^※, in its early years the HKUST Students' Union participated in the HKFS as an "affiliate member," with speaking but no voting rights. In 1999, when the HKFS proposed to abolish affiliate-member status, the union's leadership expressed disagreement, stating that the HKFS's political positions and membership fee did not align with the union's wishes, and it was unwilling to become a full member. In 2001, the union held a general referendum on joining the HKFS, but turnout was only about 6%, and the referendum did not pass.

Subsequently, the union's leadership revisited the question of membership in early 2012, held a vote, and decided to apply, becoming a probationary member. On 1 April 2013, the HKUST Students' Union formally became an HKFS member, becoming the last university students' union to join the HKFS^※.

Subsequently, during the 2015 wave of disaffiliation ("退聯") movements at other institutions, the HKUST Students' Union did not hold a referendum on leaving the HKFS and retained its membership. According to the English Wikipedia, as of the time this article's sourcing was last updated, the union remained one of four HKFS members.

# 3. Institutional-autonomy movement (2015–2016)

In March 2015, the then Chief Executive appointed Mr. Liao as Chairman of the HKUST Council for a three-year term, effective from 6 March 2015^※. According to the English Wikipedia^※, the union issued a statement shortly afterward opposing the appointment, describing it as involving "alleged nepotism" on the grounds that Mr. Liao was seen as a supporter of the then Chief Executive. The Hong Kong government responded that the appointment process was merit-based.

In October 2015, the union further called for abolishing the arrangement under which the Chief Executive serves as the university's ex officio Chancellor; according to Hong Kong Free Press^※, the union considered the arrangement detrimental to institutional autonomy.

In March 2016, the union held three referenda on institutional-autonomy questions; according to the English Wikipedia^※, all three motions passed, covering:

1. Abolishing the arrangement under which the Chief Executive serves as ex officio Chancellor;
2. Removing the Chief Executive's power to directly appoint Council members;
3. Increasing the proportion of elected student, staff, and alumni representatives on the Council.

These three referendum motions reflected student opinion only and had no legal effect; there is no record of the university or government taking corresponding action.

# 4. Hostel-policy dispute (2017)

According to a summary on the English Wikipedia^※, in October 2017 the union protested changes to the university's hostel-allocation policy (reportedly reducing the weighting given to student-society involvement and allocating more hostel places to non-local students), hanging several banners around campus and calling for the then Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs to step down. After some students found that banners had been taken down overnight, a police report was briefly filed; opposing slogans then appeared on campus notice boards for several days. The university subsequently issued an unusual joint email from the deans of all schools criticising the union's actions and calling for calm on all sides.

⚠ Single-source note: this section is currently sourced only to the English Wikipedia; no second, independent written news report has been found. Certain details (such as the Associate Vice-President's name and the exact dates) rest on this single source — please treat accordingly.

# 5. The "Frog Path" graffiti: from the 2014 Umbrella Movement to 2021

During the 2014 Umbrella Movement, HKUST students spray-painted a slogan — "Hope lies in the people, change begins with resistance" — on a small campus path informally known as "Frog Path." According to Dimsum Daily^※, the university reportedly planned to remove it the following year (2015) but was prevented by students; in the years afterward, the union periodically repainted it.

At around 2:30pm on 4 September 2021, the university finally removed the graffiti on Frog Path. A university statement said: "In step with the gradual resumption of in-person teaching, the university has been carrying out campus cleaning since the start of this year. As in-person classes resumed on 1 September, routine campus cleaning has again been scheduled for today."

# 6. The 2021 vaccine-mandate dispute

According to the English Wikipedia^※, on 5 June 2021 the union posted on Instagram expressing opposition to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, which drew a degree of public discussion. The university subsequently implemented a policy requiring students, staff, and regular visitors to present proof of vaccination or periodic negative test results to enter campus.

# 7. Post-2021: the only students' union among the "Big Eight" to remain continuously active

Students' unions at a number of Hong Kong universities were dissolved or suspended from 2021 onward. According to a 2023 report by The Collective HK^※, the HKUST Students' Union was not dissolved and did not go "unstaffed" (no one taking up cabinet positions) during this wave, and as the political environment tightened it adjusted its approach — moving toward a more pragmatic handling of campus student affairs and reducing overt political confrontation.

Sharp decline in membership: The Collective HK reports that union membership fell from a peak of roughly four thousand to roughly one thousand over three years; the university also stopped collecting membership fees on the union's behalf around 2021.

Narrowing space for expression: after the union's "Democracy Wall" introduced a requirement that anyone posting material provide their name and student number, use of the wall reportedly dropped to near zero; the "big-character poster wall" similarly fell into disuse.

According to an April 2024 Ming Pao report^※ (paywalled; summary reconstructed by cross-referencing multiple secondary sources), as of 2024 the HKUST Students' Union remained the only union among Hong Kong's eight publicly funded universities ("Big Eight") to have stayed continuously staffed without a break; the union said it would focus on student welfare and hoped to attract more members.

# 8. No record found / not applicable to this university (explicitly noted)