The governing council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) decided at a meeting Tuesday to delay the decision on appointing Johannes Chan, dean of the Faculty of Law for HKU, as the new pro-vice-chancellor. Over a hundred students and supporters of Chan laid siege to the conference room and urged the immediate appointment of the pro-vice-chancellor. The sit-in by these people even caused some health problems to two members of the governing council.

Chan was a supporter of the Occupy Central movement last year. His stance in terms of Hong Kong's political reform is known among academics and the Hong Kong public.

The sit-in caused quite a stir in Hong Kong. Chan criticized the delay by the governing council, and some spoke up in support. But most Hong Kong media are critical of the students' actions, saying it is an aftereffect of  the Occupy Central movement. What they did make them look like the "red guards" of the Chinese mainland's Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Some students in Hong Kong are too paranoid about "democracy" to have a basic judgment about right and wrong. They would even justify violence for the cause of democracy. It is hard to believe that these students have been educated in a society which is supposed to be committed to the rule of law.

The mainland went through profound protests in 1989, aroused by then-college students. But as they grew older, most have drawn deep lessons from their activities. They have learned that demands cannot be made by means of violence. Unfortunately, these college students in Hong Kong are still daydreaming that what has been proven impractical will work someday.

Let's imagine what Hong Kong would become if radicals took the upper hand and launched a "revolution" in Hong Kong. Are we expecting that an international metropolis could be reduced to rubble and rise again?

According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong has a high level of autonomy. The central government only cares about certain key issues with regard to sovereignty and the orientation of the city. This will not be the case if some major problems emerge.

Hong Kong's future is determined by these students. They should know that their "independent thinking" does not always mean they have the correct answer. From the recent behavior of these students, Hong Kong's future is in jeopardy. Hong Kong has lost its attraction for mainlanders in many aspects, such as education. They do not want to run the risk of sending good children to a Hong Kong university only to get back a bunch of political hooligans.