By Benjamin Garvey
HONG KONG
A group of Hong Kong university students is continuing to refuse their graduation certificates after their vice-chancellor withheld a diploma from a student who carried on stage a yellow umbrella - the symbol of democracy protesters in the territory.
Public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong reported Monday that a graduate of Baptist University had knelt in front of Vice-Chancellor Albert Chan and presented him with the umbrella during a weekend ceremony.
Chan then refused to hand over the certificate to the student, urging him to leave the stage and delaying the ceremony, said RTHK.
With protests entering their eighth week, efforts are stalling to remove demonstrators from the remaining areas they occupy.
On Monday, a court reserved judgment on a protester's application that sought to prevent them hindering the clearance of objects used to obstruct roads in two parts of the city.
According to RTHK, Raphael Wong - an activist and vice chairman of the League of Social Democrats - presented himself as a defendant in the case, saying the plaintiffs - two companies - should not seek the injunction as clearance of roads was a responsibility of the government rather than private businesses.
He said he will continue occupying the roads but would not try to stop the removal of any objects used to obstruct them.
Meanwhile, the government announced Monday that more than 300 people had been treated by public hospitals for injuries related to the protests since they began in late September.
It said the majority of injuries were minor.
Earlier, doctors had criticized police for hitting protesters on the head with batons, saying such blows could cause permanent brain damage or even death.
A poll has shown that public support for the protesters is dwindling, with around 67.4 percent of those surveyed saying activists should give up their street occupation immediately.
The poll, conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong from Nov. 5-11 among 1,030 Cantonese-speaking residents aged 15 and over, said those against the movement had risen from 35.5 percent to 43.5 percent in October.
The demonstrations are the largest the former British colony has seen since China resumed sovereignty over the territory in 1997.
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