Brain drain: Hong Kong political crackdown sparks scholar exodus

Professors fear arrest in 'worsening climate' for academic freedom

The University of Hong Kong pulled down the Pillar of Shame, a sculpture paying tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing on June 4, 1989 -- a taboo subject in mainland China. The statue had stood on campus for nearly a quarter of a century. © Reuters

FRANCES CHEUNG and TAKESHI KIHARA, Nikkei staff writers

June 26, 2022 13:03 JST

HONG KONG -- Prominent Hong Kong academic Hui Po-keung was about to board a plane for Europe last month when police arrested him on charges linked to the city's Beijing-imposed security law.

He was the latest in a growing list of scholars feeling the squeeze from a political clampdown that critics say is destroying academic freedom at Hong Kong's top-rated universities -- and putting their international reputation at risk.