Assuming that academic traditions and values are preserved, the other changes taking place in Hong Kong will not fundamentally alter the degree of academic integration of Hong Kong faculty into the global academy, and will, in fact, increase the integration of China's academic community. This statement was not consoling to members of the academy since it appeared less than a year before the new flag was raised. While academic freedom is specifically guaranteed under Article 136 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, standards of scholarship are jeopardized by the growing number of self-censoring academics. University students continue to commemorate the 1989 suppression of the student movement in Beijing. University bookshops continue to stock books unobtainable on the mainland.
Professors criticize the government and return to teach the next day.