【明報專訊】AFTER THE 2019 INCIDENT at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the university adopted a number of access control measures, limiting access to students, staff and authorised people only. The new Director of Audit's report urges that PolyU can adjust security measures based on the circumstances at an appropriate time.

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During the anti-amendment storm, PolyU was turned into a battlefield at one point, causing severe damage to the campus. After the incident, the university launched campus restoration and security enhancement work, including setting up security points at designated locations and installing turnstiles at the access points. The Audit Commission released a new Director of Audit's report yesterday (27 November), and one of the items reviewed is the repair and maintenance of premises at PolyU.

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The report mentions that PolyU has spent about $106 million on restoration and $129.6 million on strengthening security, with related work completed in June 2022. However, unlike many local universities that have gradually reopened their campuses to provide easier public access, PolyU has so far maintained a number of access control policies.

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In the Director of Audit's report, it is pointed out that PolyU must comply with the public area requirements stipulated in the land lease, allowing the public to enter and exit designated areas of the campus freely within specified times for lawful purposes. The Audit Commission has noticed that the public has raised concerns about PolyU's open campus policy now and then, arguing that PolyU needs to keep reviewing the latest situation and adjust security measures as appropriate.

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In response, PolyU stated that it "has always complied with" the public area requirements stipulated in the land lease by allowing the public to enter the campus via the visitor registration system. It also claimed that the university is not obliged to "open the entire campus" to all members of the public.

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For a long time, many universities in Hong Kong have adhered to the principle of open campus. It was only due to the anti-amendment storm and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic that universities had no choice but to switch to closed campus management with strict restrictions on access to their campuses by outsiders. Now is a different time. As the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, of the eight subsidised universities, HKU, HKUST, HKBU and Lingnan University swiftly lifted the access control measures. Although CUHK and EdUHK still require students and staff to swipe their cards or show their ID cards to enter the campus, they do allow visitors to register on-site. Only PolyU and CityU still strictly restrict public access, requiring visitors to make prior appointments.

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At the end of 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic was coming to an end, some universities began to relax their "closed-door restrictions". Back then, PolyU said that it would closely monitor the development of the pandemic and make timely adjustments to its anti-pandemic arrangements. CityU also made a similar statement. Now that it has been almost two years since the end of the pandemic, it is debatable whether the universities still need to maintain strict restrictions on public access.

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PolyU emphasised that it is not obliged to "open the entire campus" to the public. However, the Director of Audit's report makes it clear that it only hopes that the university will allow the public to enter and exit the designated areas of the campus freely at specified times in accordance with the land lease. The university should not lump the two concepts together.

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明報社評2024.11.28：撤除嚴厲出入管制 恢復大學校園開放

2019年理大事件後，理工大學採取多項出入管制措施，只限學生、教職員及獲授權人士進入校園，新一份《審計報告》認為理大可視乎情况，適當時候調整保安措施。

反修例風暴期間，理大一度淪為戰場，校園破壞嚴重。事後校方展開校園修復和加強保安工作，包括在指定地點設立保安站，以及在出入口安裝閘機等。審計署昨天公布新一份審計報告，其中一項正是審視理大校舍維修保養工作。

審計報告提到，理大花在修復的開支約為1.06億元，加強保安的開支則為1.296億元，相關工作前年6月完成，惟有別於本地多間大學陸續重開校園方便公眾進出，理大迄今仍維持多項出入管制政策。

審計報告指出，理大須遵從土地契約訂明的公眾範圍規定，所有公眾均可就合法目的，在指明時間內自由進出校園指定範圍。審計署留意到公眾不時對理大開放校園政策表示關注，認為理大需要繼續留意最新情况，並在適當時調整保安措施。

理大方面則表示，「一直遵從」土地契約訂明的公眾範圍規定，容許公眾經訪客記系統進入校園，又稱校方沒有責任向所有公眾「開放校園全部範圍」。

長期以來，本港多所大學都奉行開放校園原則，只因反修例風暴，以及緊接而來的新冠疫情，迫不得已，才改採封閉式校園管理，嚴格限制校外人士進出。時移世易，隨着新冠疫情淡出，8間資助大學中，港大、科大、浸大及嶺大很快已取消出入管制措施。雖然中大和教大仍要求學生和教職員拍卡或出示證件才能進入校園，但容許訪客即場登記。只有理大和城大仍然嚴格限制公眾進入，訪客必須事先預約。

2022年底，新冠疫情步入尾聲，部分大學開始放寬「門禁」，當時理大曾說，校方將密切留意疫情發展，適時調整各項防疫安排，城大也有類似說法。現在疫情結束已差不多兩年，校方是否還須維持嚴格限制公眾出入，確有商榷必要。

理大強調校方沒有責任向所有公眾「開放校園全部範圍」，然而審計報告說得清楚，只是希望校方按照土地契約，容許公眾在「指定時間指定範圍」自由出入校園，校方不應該混淆兩者。

■ Glossary 生字 /

comply : to obey a rule, an order, etc

stipulate : to state clearly and definitely that sth must be done, or how it must be done

lump : to put or consider different things together in the same group

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Audio files provided by John W