Report: Chinese students target Hong Kong activism in South Korea

June 13 (UPI) -- International students from China and Hong Kong in South Korea are clashing over print posters supporting the extradition protests in Hong Kong.

Commenters on an online forum for Chinese-speaking students say mainland Chinese students pulled down posters from bulletin boards at Sogang University in Seoul, the Korea Times reported Thursday.

The move, if confirmed, could be a violation of free speech principles observed on Korean campuses.

The incident is taking place as mainland Chinese students studying in the United States are harassing a Hong Kong national at Emerson College in Boston, for rejecting a mainland Chinese identity.

In online community boards, Chinese commenters in South Korea said students from Hong Kong had placed posters around campus, to build awareness of the rallies against Hong Kong's extradition bill.

Soon after, mainland Chinese students attending Sogang took down the printed material, according to the conversations taking place online.

On the poster, activists pointed out the extradition bill would potentially subject any person regardless of nationality to Chinese custody during their stay in Hong Kong.

The poster said the bill must not pass because it infringes on the human rights of everyone visiting Hong Kong.

Commenters said the international students from mainland China have been taking down posters and disrupted the distribution of anti-extradition flyers "to the point of rudeness."

Chinese students have also told South Korean students inquiring about their activities to "mind their own business." Some of the students cursed the Koreans in Chinese, commenters said in posts that included photos of such cases.

Representatives of Sogang University's student council said they could not confirm the incidents, but South Korean commenters are showing their support for Hong Kong students online, according to the Korea Times.

Hong Kong authorities are expected to eventually pass the bill despite the ongoing protests, according to multiple press reports.