Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) expects the costs of repairing campus facilities damaged by rioters during the half-month-long occupation in November could reach as much as 700 million Hong Kong dollars (about 90 million U.S. dollars).
People close to the matter told Xinhua that the figure is the preliminary estimate by university management and it is still unclear how the repairing costs will be covered, citing an existing university fund as a possible option.
PolyU was the hardest-hit Hong Kong university during the prolonged social unrest last year. Rioters took over the campus in mid-November and built it into a fortress against police, with school facilities vandalized, laboratories ransacked and garbage scattered all around.
Adjacent to the university, a major cross-sea tunnel linking Hong Kong Island and Kowloon was also blocked.
The repair work has been ongoing since the standoff was over at the end of November and is expected to mostly complete by September, the people familiar with the matter said. At present, the vestige of rampant destruction can still be spotted on campus as some severely-damaged buildings remain closed and many facilities in the library need to be replaced.
PolyU restarted classes in January before suspension again due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Of all the repairing costs, 200 million Hong Kong dollars come from temporary fixing of damaged facilities, including smashed glass and gates of buildings, and the other 500 million dollars will be used for long-term restoration and strengthened security measures, according to local media reports.
While broken school facilities may be easy to restore as long as funds are ensured, many other things may not.
"I was heartbroken to see libraries, labs and so many other places I'm familiar with were destroyed by rioters and a number of my colleagues share the same feeling with me," a PolyU staff member who declined to be named said. "It (the violent incident) is unforgettable for faculty members and students."
While cleaning up the debris left by rioters after the event, the Hong Kong police seized thousands of petrol bombs on campus, which were produced by the rioters as weapons to attack police officers and passersby, as well as a massive amount of other dangerous chemicals.
The staff member was also worried that PolyU's reputation may be tarnished and students from the Chinese mainland and overseas will opt not to apply for the university.
Quacquarelli Symonds, a Britain-based education information firm, published its World University Rankings by Subject 2020 in March, showing that six of 24 subjects of PolyU registered a lower ranking. Other top Hong Kong universities, including the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) also saw a number of subjects dropping in the rankings.
Apart from PolyU, several other universities were also gripped by violent incidents and suffered huge losses.
The CUHK said the repairing expenditures could be as much as 70 million Hong Kong dollars, and the City University of Hong Kong said its losses were over 100 million dollars, according to local media. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.75 HK dollars)
