By Bob Allen
The president of Hong Kong Baptist University drew criticism after refusing to hand diplomas to graduates on stage carrying yellow umbrellas, symbols of a student led civil-disobedience movement started in September called Occupy Central.
The university allowed students to display umbrellas, a symbol of the pro-democracy protest since people used them to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray attacks during the early days of the movement, during four days of graduation ceremonies, but bringing them onstage was inappropriate.
When a handful of graduates displaying umbrellas — yellow to match yellow ribbons as the color that symbolizes the campaign — managed to get past a security check, President Albert Chan refused to shake their hands or give them their certificates of graduation.
Critics accused Chan, fourth president of what was founded in 1954 as a Christian school with support from American Baptists, of kowtowing to Beijing. The school is now independent of the Hong Kong Baptist Convention and is supported with government funds. The Chinese government refuses to grant concessions and recently hindered three pro-democracy activists from boarding a flight to Beijing intending to lobby for free elections.
University officials denied Chan acted out of political pressure.
“The university is of the view that political elements should not be displayed on stage out of respect for the solemn nature of the academic ceremony and also to all participating graduates, parents, guests and teachers, and thus graduates were requested to leave the items before they went on stage,” officials said in a statement to media.
Hong Kong Baptist University conferred undergraduate and higher degrees on more than 6,400 graduates during its 55th commencement on Nov. 13, 14, 15 and 17. The school, then known as Hong Kong Baptist College, was founded as a post-secondary college under the auspices of the Hong Kong Baptist Convention when the city’s Baptist community was growing rapidly, fueled by refugees from the Communist People’s Republic of China founded in 1949.
The university received nurture from various agencies in the Southern Baptist Convention, including endorsement by the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools in 1973. Challenges to a strong denominational identity arose in the 1980s, when officials began seeking government financial aid.
In 1993 the name was changed to Hong Kong Baptist University. Hong Kong Baptists agreed to relinquish control, while retaining the right to elect a handful of trustees. The name “Baptist” was retained in part to appease alumni who wanted to acknowledge that for a significant part of history it benefitted by being a Baptist school.
Baptist work in Hong Kong began in the 1830s with missionaries from the Triennial Convention, forerunner to both the Southern Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA. The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong formed in 1938 and is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The Southern Baptist Foreign (now International) Mission Board ended direct support of the Hong Kong Baptist Convention in 1987.
Numerous Christian colleges in the United States and Canada have worked with Hong Kong Baptist University in study-abroad programs. The university still maintains a Christian Student Union, supported by private contributions.