Hundreds of mainland Chinese students hasten to leave Hong Kong amid escalating violence due to protests, some even unwilling to return.

Groups of mainland Chinese undergraduate and graduate students studying in Hong Kong this week rushed to pack their luggage, leaving by buses, ferries or bullet trains when violence broke out on campus. Some people fear for their own safety and plan to leave at the last minute on the advice of friends, Hong Kong professors and administrators.

Hong Kong police have arranged police trains to take students out of the city due to the blockade of protesters. According to the Global Times, some expressed frustration with the school administration for failing to control students protesting and protecting mainland students.

In the past few days, violence has shifted from streets to universities, a sign that protesters are increasingly dissatisfied with the Hong Kong Special Zone government, according to the Global Times. Some mainland students said they were surrounded and had to stay in dormitories, stocking up instant noodles.

"We have to take students back to the mainland as soon as possible. Their parents are very worried and many locals have helped us," said one female student. Upon arriving in Shenzhen, a city bordering Hong Kong, many students said they felt relieved to have arrived safely. "It was the darkest day," a Hong Kong Polytechnic student said.

It is unclear how many Chinese students will leave, but many also choose to stay in Hong Kong. According to University Grants Committee statistics, there are 12,322 Mainland Chinese students attending full-time at eight of Hong Kong's largest public universities in the 2018-2019 academic year. More than 100 Taiwanese students were also arranged to go home with the help of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong.

The Shenzhen Youth League has provided free weekly accommodation to Chinese students in need of shelter, a move to encourage some to leave. Students currently stay in 12 hotels and hostels. Many guesthouses in Shenzhen are also full of dormitories as of the afternoon of November 13. Others arranged with relatives and friends. Some hurriedly left to leave without a laptop or spare clothes.

"I and my friends hardly slept last night," said Nicole, a 22-year-old graduate student at Hong Kong City University. She took the first train to Shenzhen at 7am on November 13 and said that 80 of the more than 100 mainland Chinese students in her field of study left Hong Kong at noon. In Shenzhen, she took a flight to Shanghai, where her parents live.

Mainland Chinese students are largely not the target of protesters. However, videos of the attacks, including the beatings of a mainland student last week in the school, as well as the protester's anti-Chinese rhetoric, have upset some. They even avoid speaking Mandarin in public or not mentioning going back to Mainland.

Concerns were heightened as tensions intensified due to the death of a college student after falling from an elevated parking lot, near the tear gas police to disperse protesters last week.

When protesters blocked roads and forced some subway lines to shut down on November 12, violent clashes occurred in universities. At the Central University of Hong Kong, riot police had to spray tear gas, fire rubber bullets when students protested to throw bricks, petrol bombs and light a fire. At the University of Hong Kong, the city's oldest school, students stand on overpasses, throwing chairs and other objects on the street to obstruct traffic.

Life in Hong Kong has been paralyzed for the first three days in a row as commuters struggled to get to work and students were absent. Huge crowds gathered at the subway station, the streets were filled with bricks, sticks and trash. Groups of men in black gathered with office workers wearing masks at lunchtime in the city's main Central business district, chanting slogans of protest.

Mainland students are the largest source of non-local students at Hong Kong universities, some of which boast high international rankings. Schools are also a popular choice for mainland students who want to study outside the mainland because Hong Kong is so close. Most courses are taught in English and mainland Chinese graduates at Hong Kong universities can get their visas extended to work in the city.

Many students say they plan to stay away for a few days, weeks, or until the situation in the city stabilizes. Some universities on November 13 said they stopped classes for the rest of the semester, which ended in early December.

Mainland students at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where the students were once killed, said they were worried about being attacked or targeted by protesters. Last week, a student who was attacked by protesters wearing a mask came as he tried to leave the outdoor forum. A school representative said they were investigating the incident. HKUST provides free buses to students who come to the bus station in Kowloon district, from which they can cross the border to Mainland.

Zhang, 27 years old. who is studying for a doctorate in Hong Kong, said he restricted speaking to his friends in Mandarin and used the WeChat messaging app while in public areas on campus to avoid being Locals identify as Mainland Chinese citizens.

Zhang said he witnessed Mainland students being harassed and scolded by indigenous students. "Those who do not take their side are viewed as enemies," said Zhang, who is staying temporarily with friends in Shenzhen.

Yu, 25, studying for a PhD at HKUST, said his joint office and several classmates were hacked and ransacked this week. By the afternoon of November 13, he brought his laptop, some textbooks and clothes, and left with 5 friends. They rushed to the point where they missed lunch. "Only when I return to Mainland China can I focus on my studies," Yu said.

Chen, 20, a sophomore majoring in finance at the City University of Hong Kong, boarded the mainland on the afternoon of November 13 with two large suitcases and backpacks. She said she is applying to schools in Australia and hopes to transfer to the school next year.

"I don't think the situation can be solved anytime soon. Our classes have been stopped and my test is postponed," Chen said, adding that protesters in black had entered the classroom. learn and scream at the students.