Hong Kong’s High Court on Wednesday rejected a bid by a Chinese University student leader to bar police from entering the campus.
They also argued the police actions were unconstitutional in that they amounted to intrusion into private premises, a right protected by Article 29 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.Before the hearing, police had said “schools were not considered private premises” under the Public Order Ordinance, which regulates public meetings, gatherings and protests and defines where the public is permitted to have access to as “public space”.
The judge also said the Public Order Ordinance empowered police to “stop or disperse any gathering or procession whatsoever or wheresoever, if they reasonably believe that the same is likely to cause or lead to a breach of the peace”.The Sha Tin campus sits on a private lot granted by the government through a lease that expires in 2047.
A Security Bureau and police review the following year concluded it was “necessary that the private organisation takes the lead in making security arrangements, with police assistance, to the satisfaction of all parties.”