志异 Draft by Drama box December 2014 (english) | Page 48

Are onlookers
allowed to hold
candles during
the vigil? Are they
allowed to sing
along? Or are they
only allowed to
hang around in
silence?

I was talking to a Hong Kong student on exchange programme I
met at ‘Singapore in Solidarity with Hong Kong’ and asked how
he was adapting to Singapore. His reply was ‘everything’s fine
except the lack of freedom in speech’. He is studying law at Hong
Kong University and has been on exchange in Singapore for a
year since August. I also asked if the professors discussed about
the student movements and Occupy Central in class. ‘No,’ he
said, ‘possibly due to the sensitivity of this issue.’ He went on to
say that the greatest difference in the Singapore campus is the
atmosphere; posters that bear political agenda can be put up
freely on Hong Kong’s campuses and students can express their
views on politics.
There was another instance when I asked a professor in Hong
Kong if universities interfered with the research carried out
by academics and discouraged the use of politics-related or
sensitive topics as research areas. His response left a deep
impression: the media automatically steps in if a Hong Kong
university interferes with a professor’s research or involvement
in community. It is no doubt that media plays an important role
in keeping the society and balance of power in check, and is the
drive for progression in a society. The transparency of the media,
as well as media personnels’ grasps on justice and accuracy, has
a direct relationship with the freedom of speech in a society.
Any imbalance and lapse will cause the community to lose an
important support.

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