‘Path open’ for revival of CUHK student union, if it registers, Dennis Lo says

Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, the president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), stated that "the path is open" for the revival of the main student union, provided it registers with authorities in accordance with the law. Lo dismissed claims of the university's overreliance on intake from mainland China, highlighting the university's efforts towards diversification.

He clarified that the central union could be re-established through legal registration under either the Societies Ordinance or the Companies Ordinance, noting that SH Ho College and Morningside College had already registered, proving the path open. The university has been actively in contact with students to assist them in this process since the main union's cabinet resigned in March 2021 following legal warnings under the national security law.

Since then, the CUHK student union, as well as student unions at Baptist University, Polytechnic University, and Lingnan University, have all disbanded. This leaves the student union at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as the sole active union among the city's publicly funded universities. Lo emphasized the university's commitment to increasing international diversity, noting that non-local applications have risen by 20% year-on-year, with out-of-China applications increasing by 75%.

The university's strategic plan for the next five years includes the establishment of a postgraduate college to extend the collegiate system to master's and PhD students.