Indonesian Students Association (PPI) Hong Kong chairman Michelle Kezia said all universities in Hong Kong had replaced face-to-face sessions with online lectures for the rest of the year.

“So all Indonesian students who want to study at home are allowed to go home. [It applies] until the end of the year, or the end of semester. We’ll start [classroom sessions] again in January 2020,” she told The Jakarta Post via text message.

The series of protests began five months ago to denounce a now-shelved bill that would have allowed extradition to China and had been mainly taking place in the evenings and on weekends. But now those protests have turned into wider calls for democracy and police accountability as violence and demonstrations roil the city, challenging Beijing's authority.

Since the beginning of this week, protesters have caused widespread disruption with barricades and rallies, as the police drafted in reinforcements and the government denied rumors of an imminent curfew, AFP reported. On Thursday, key arterial roads were blocked, many train services suspended and schools closed, while lunchtime rallies took place in the business district as protesters occupied universities.

Michelle said that despite the escalation of violence in many parts of the city, Indonesian students were relatively safe, especially the students living in dormitories outside of the main campus, such as the students at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

“For City University of Hong Kong [CityU], meanwhile, tear gas was seen around the student residence a few days ago, but there were no Indonesian youth who were victims. As for the Chinese University of Hong Kong [CUHK] there was a big commotion in the campus area too, but there were also no Indonesian students affected,” she said.

There are approximately 610 Indonesian students currently studying in Hong Kong.

HKU, CityU and CUHK were among Hong Kong’s top universities that were turned into makeshift fortresses by students who said their nonviolent efforts have been met by brutal police tactics and they need weapons to protect themselves, Reuters reported.

Authorities said protesters had turned CUHK into a “weapons factory”, prompting a crackdown on Tuesday that left many people injured by fiery clashes. But students accused police of turning the campus into a war zone and said they had no choice but to defend themselves, according to Reuters.

China's President Xi Jinping warned on Thursday that the protests that killed two people in Hong Kong “seriously challenged the baseline principle of one country, two systems", AFP reported.

Speaking at a summit in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia, he said "stopping violence and controlling chaos while restoring order is currently Hong Kong's most urgent task", in comments reported across Chinese state media.

Michelle said the Indonesian student association had kept close contact with the Indonesian consulate general for updates on the situation in Hong Kong.

Vania Alexandra Lijaya, Indonesian vice consul of information and sociocultural affairs, said the demonstrations had caused schools, universities and offices to close and hampered transportation as the protesters blocked the roads and damaged public transportation facilities, mainly the Mass Transit Railway (MTR).

However, even though demonstrations were widespread, the consulate general’s office continued to open daily and activities were running as usual, according to Vania.

“The Indonesian Consulate General is closely monitoring the situation. We are on the ground coordinating with the local authorities to ensure that Indonesian citizens are safe," she said. "The Indonesian Consulate also continues to urge Indonesian citizens to remain calm, alert, not be provoked by demonstrations, to obey local regulations and to contact the Consulate General if there are problems that threaten their safety."

She added: “Indeed, there is an escalation compared to previous demonstrations, but there have been no reports about things that threaten the safety of Indonesian citizens."

The Consulate General has just eased the process for passport renewal for Indonesian citizens in Hong Kong, which number about 180,000, mostly migrant workers.

All Indonesian citizens who have booked appointments for the service but are unable to attend it can visit the consulate office anytime without having to reschedule their appointments, the consulate office has announced, as reported by Antara.

Wahyu Susilo from labor advocacy group Migrant CARE said grassroots information among migrant workers spread by worker unions was no less important to help Indonesians exercise caution.

“Some of the information spread faster among migrant workers,” he said.

The Indonesian Migrant Worker Union, for example, has approximately 30,000 members, according to Wahyu. (ipa)

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