A Hong Kong Baptist University student punished for taking part in protests against required Mandarin classes has posted a mock confession, offering an apology to the institution and the Chinese Communist Party.

William Liu Wai-lim ¡°mocked the university¡¯s policy on Mandarin proficiency as a bid to please the mainland authorities¡±, the .

In January, the environmental science undergraduate and other students ¡°besieged the language centre office in protest against the university¡¯s requirement for all students to take a Mandarin course or pass a proficiency test¡±, the newspaper said.

In response, the university said that he must write a letter of apology and carry out 20 hours of community service.

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Mainland China¡¯s influence in Hong Kong universities is a frequent subject of controversy.

Mr Liu¡¯s ¡°confession¡±, written in simplified Chinese, was posted on the institution¡¯s ¡°democracy wall¡± ¨C sites for protest posters at Hong Kong universities.

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The message was topped with a banner that read: ¡°Surrendering to the party, the nation, the people, and the language centre. My Confession.¡±

Mr Liu¡¯s message said that he would ¡°repent for the mistakes he had done¡± and learn ¡°the series of speeches by general secretary Xi Jinping¡± and would adopt ¡°Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era¡± to ¡°remould¡± his thoughts.

The university told the SCMP that it would not comment.

john.morgan@timeshigherducation.com