On February 13, 2026, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) expelled Miles Kwan, a politics undergraduate student who had previously been arrested for distributing fliers calling for accountability following a deadly apartment complex fire.

In November 2025, national security police detained Kwan for two nights on suspicion of “seditious intent” after Kwan promoted a petition he had co-authored with two friends. The petition called for an independent investigation into a fire that broke out in a Tai Po apartment building complex that month. The fire burned for 42 hours, killing 168 people and injuring 79. The petition sought a review of safety certifications, scrutiny of alleged construction oversight lapses, and official accountability following reports that concerns regarding flammable scaffolding netting had been raised prior to the disaster.

After Kwan was released on bail, CUHK conducted a disciplinary review, referring his case to a student discipline committee composed of students and faculty. Following its review, the committee imposed two demerits on Kwan related to his Kwan’s “impolite and disrespectful attitude” and “likely” breach of confidentiality rules since Kwan had posted the email informing him of his meeting with the discipline committee on social media, which he had called a “kangaroo panel.”

Kwan had already accumulated two prior demerits—one for his November 2025 arrest and another for a separate 2022 “criminal damage” charge related to Kwan’s placement of stickers on lamp posts to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. The four demerits triggered his expulsion under a CUHK policy stating that a student may be terminated upon receiving three or more demerits.

At the time of his expulsion, Kwan had already completed his academic requirements and was only weeks away from his March graduation.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the expulsion of a student in apparent retaliation for the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression – conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration for Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Hong Kong is a party. University authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting or retaliating against nonviolent expressive activity, so long as that activity is undertaken peacefully and responsibly. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, disciplinary measures aimed at limiting expressive activity undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.inkl.com/news/student-expelled-after-calling-for-probe-into-hong-kong-s-deadliest-fire-that-claimed-168-lives
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/13/university-expels-student-who-called-for-accountability-over-hong-kong-fire-miles-kwan
https://hongkongfp.com/2026/02/13/student-who-launched-petition-urging-probe-into-deadly-tai-po-fire-says-cuhk-expelled-him-weeks-before-graduation/