Malaysian student Celia Cheng’s first semester in Hong Kong began with being tear-gassed outside parliament and ended with her evacuation from campus as protesters hurled petrol bombs at police. “If my parents don’t allow me to go back to Hong Kong, I might need to defer my studies,” Cheng, who won a scholarship to one of the city’s top universities, told AFP from Malaysia. Hong Kong’s universities — among the world’s most highly rated — have become a focal point of violent clashes between police and demonstrators, and senior staff fear this could put off overseas students.
