VICTORIA – The University of Victoria says all its exchange students who were in Hong Kong are now safely back in Canada as student protests continue to rock the region.
Eight UVic students were attending classes at three Hong Kong universities which are now closed for the remainder of the semester due to the civil unrest, according to UVic's director of global engagement.
"As a result, the universities are providing alternate teaching arrangements for students to complete their term studies through electronic education," Carolyn Russell told CTV News Thursday.
The students were enrolled in partner programs at Hong Kong University, the City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Russell said UVic students who were planning to travel to Hong Kong in January are now working with university staff to reassess their options.
The University of British Columbia has cancelled its second term for 31 exchange students in Hong Kong while it ensures the remainder of its students in the protest-racked region can get out. Twenty of those students had left the area by Thursday, according to the school.
The withdrawals came after police moved in on hundreds of protesters who had barricaded themselves inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University over the weekend.
"We always advise our students to exercise due caution, stay alert, be aware of their surroundings and trust their instincts to remain safe while abroad," Russell said.
"We also suggest they enrol in International SOS to receive travel alerts, enrol in the Registry of Canadians Abroad and to follow the Embassy of Canada to China or Consulate General of Canada, Hong Kong, on social media."
The latest violence comes after five months of protests against growing Chinese control over the city. Last week, protesters used gasoline bombs and arrows to keep back riot police, who countered with armoured cars and water cannons.
More than 150 people were arrested over the weekend as police stormed Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory were sparked by a proposed bill that would have allowed certain criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China to face charges, a move that opponents viewed as a blow to Hong Kong's legal independence.
