Candidates participate in mainland student union elections in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Photo: CFP

Tensions between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland ran high in a recent student union election at the prestigious University of Hong Kong (HKU).

At a debate between two competing slates of candidates, Eugenia Yip, a native of South China's Guangdong Province running for social secretary of the student union of HKU, was accused of having connections with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and for being a former member of Communist Youth League of China (CYL), an organization for young people led by the CPC.

Besides being accused of using simplified Chinese characters in her election material, Yip was also challenged over her alleged connection with a "mainland-friendly" guest she invited to a high-table dinner at an orientation camp welcoming new students.

The controversy surrounding Yip quickly spread beyond the campus, with both Hong Kong and the mainland media weighing into the debate.

Mainland students in Hong Kong believe the incident reflects a deep-rooted among some members of the Hong Kong public towards the mainland, and may have intensified following the illegal Occupy Central protests.

Irrational Fears

Hong Kong over the years has been seen as an ideal destination for many mainland students, offering an international learning environment.

The number of mainland students increased four times over from 2,800 in 2003 to 11,376 in 2013, according to the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po.

With mainland students accounting for over 80 percent of the total non-local students in Hong Kong, voices have emerged fearing that the mainland students may be stealing job opportunities from the locals.

"I remembered once that after there were some unwashed dishes left in the sink of our hostel's common area, the local students immediately thought they were left by the mainland students. Then the next day, someone wrote 'mainland dog' on the board next to it," said a mainland graduate from the City University of Hong Kong who requested anonymity.

"But from my personal experience, my interaction with the local students have been good as I have joined a group under the Student Union and do volunteer activities with them together. Speaking fluent Cantonese helps in integrating into the local community," he said.

He said that while he personally has not had any negative experiences interacting with Hong Kong locals, he believes the reactions in Yip's case may have been intensified in the wake of the city's recent Occupy protests, as the rival slate of candidates used Yip's background to attack their opponents.

He explained that being a member of CYL does not confer automatic party membership or imply any political connection. "Most students from the Chinese mainland have joined the CYL. It was perceived as an honor as only those who perform well academically can join the group," he said.

"Hong Kong people lack understanding of [students from the mainland], and are prejudiced against the CPC," he said. "It is quite ironic when Hong Kong people abuse their freedom of speech to freely attack others," he said.

Yip, the central figure in the HKU controversy, also wrote an open letter titled "I cannot join the student union election only because I have worn red scarf?" She said she decided to enroll in HKU because of the university's reputation as a free and open institution, but became disillusioned by the accusations hurled at her due to her background.

Yip's case is not the first row caused by mainland students' involvement in the CYL. In a student union election in City University in 2011, one of the cabinet teams running for the election was labeled by their rival candidates as "intruders from the Communist Party" because four of their mainland student members had joined the CYL.

Another similar debate took place in Lingnan University around the same time, when mainland student Liao Weiyi, who was running for president of the student union, was shunned by local students after disclosing his Party membership.

Mainland students at City University and Hong Kong Baptist University quickly hit back at the accusation by launching a campaign to wear red scarves to class to show their pride in their identity in 2011.

They said that they were being wrongly accused of being CPC members trying to infiltrate Hong Kong's student organizations, saying the accusations were driven by irrational fear.

A double standard

"This is a continuation of the Occupy Central protests. Like those protestors who were manipulated by the pan-democracy politicians, the university students [who challenged Yip's background] were also used by the politicians as they divert their anger towards Hong Kong's rising property prices towards mainland students," said Gary Lau, a staff member at Hong Kong Mainland Students Association and president of Hands Together.

Despite being a local, Lau has been active in assisting the mainland students to better integrate into the local society, and believes that the Hong Kong people need better understand the mainland.

"Those Hong Kong students are imposing double standard. While they are protesting to demand a free and fair election without any pre-screening, they discourage mainland students from participating in local universities' student union election," Trump, a mainland student from Lingnan University told the Global Times.

Trump, who has lived in Hong Kong for six months now, said most people in Hong Kong are friendly towards mainland students, except in some minor exceptions.

"I have a friend who is also from the Chinese mainland studying at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He told me he was once rejected by the university's drama society," he said.

While an exact reason was not given, Trump believes it was because he does not speak the local dialect.

Brenda Chen, a mainland student who is now studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that she believes media on both sides have a responsibility to facilitate deeper understanding on both sides.

"Hong Kong universities' student unions represent the students' voice in social affairs, hence it is understandable that voters would be concerned about the candidates' political stance," said Chen.

Chen said conflicts and mistrust between the Hong Kong society and the mainland have intensified recently and the political atmosphere has become increasingly sensitive after the Occupy Central protests.

"The Hong Kong media has turned isolated cases into a sensation to attract attention and hits online. The media from the Chinese mainland should also try to understand the origin of Hong Kong people's concerns. We need more rational voices and complete information when approaching societal conflicts," Chen said.