Marc Daalder is a political reporter based in Wellington who covers Covid-19, climate change, energy, primary industries, technology and the far-right. Twitter: @marcdaalder.

Foreign Affairs

Police issue warning after Uni Hong Kong protest

Police have issued a warning to the person who pushed University of Auckland student Serena Lee during a protest at the university over Hong Kong, Marc Daalder reports.

The person who pushed masters student Serena Lee during a protest at the University of Auckland over Hong Kong on July 29 has been issued a formal written warning for common assault under the Summary Offences Act 1981.

The altercation occurred at the Lennon Wall, a display of pro-democracy posters that supported anti-extradition protests occurring in Hong Kong. The university had previously closed its own investigation and said it had taken "appropriate disciplinary action".

Police also told Lee that the man had "written you an apology letter to show remorse for pushing you". The letter is currently in the post, she said. The Police said they would take no further action in Lee's case.

Since footage of the altercation went viral, Lee was doxxed (ie had her private information searched for and published on the internet) and had to change her contact details because she was getting "spammed".

The student who pushed Lee has previously been identified as Edric Liu. In August, Liu told Newsroom he too had been doxxed and had received online threats.

"I am happy this thing is over," he told Newsroom.

"We can turn our attention back to study, as it has already wasted us a lot of time."

On August 30, the university took down the Lennon Wall as the room it was in needed to be used for a separate function. Students have been told they are welcome to post their messages of support for the Hong Kong protesters on other university noticeboards and Lee expects to see new posters crop up after the break ends.

The July altercation at University of Auckland came in the same week as Newsroom revealed AUT cancelled an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

AUT said the decision to cancel the event was due to a venue booking issue, but it came after Chinese government representatives from the Auckland Consulate requested AUT block the event.