Today (21 June), at 4:00pm, the
University of Macau (UM) held the annual congregation on the new campus. More
than 2,500 people, including graduates, parents, teachers and guests, attended
the ceremony. As soon as the solemn ceremony began, a student suddenly held up
a banner that read, “支持學者發聲 Please Stop Persecution of Scholars” written in both Chinese and
English, which disrupted the proceedings of the ceremony. Another member in the
audience, who claimed to be a journalist of the Macau Concealers, stood in the
aisle, which interfered with the comings and goings of others attending the
ceremony. After repeated attempts to reason with him, he still refused to cooperate,
and continued to engage in behaviours that disrupted the order at the event
venue. To make sure the graduates and their parents can enjoy their right to
participate in the graduation ceremony, UM’s security staff had to take
measures to make the two leave the event venue. It is regrettable that there
was some bodily contact between the security staff and the journalist in the
process.
UM says that for the students and
their parents, the congregation is a very important ceremony, and therefore UM
wanted to make sure that the ceremony proceeded in a joyous and solemn manner.
In response to this incident, UM had to take appropriate measures to ensure
that the ceremony could proceed smoothly. UM always respects academic freedom
and freedom of speech, and also upholds academic excellence. This is UM’s
educational philosophy.
Should you have any inquiries about the information, please feel free to contact the Information Executives Ms.Lei or Ms Fok at（853）8822 8004 or prs.media@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.
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