School is back in session for NYU students in Shanghai, China, but one subject that won’t be on the syllabus is pro-democracy protests sweeping Hong Kong.
NYU faculty in China and New York say the issue is a third rail, particularly after the international imbroglio caused by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the demonstrators.
“Everyone is under a bit of a cloud of fear,” one faculty member who teaches at NYU’s sprawling 600,000-square-foot Shanghai campus told The Post. “We don’t walk around trembling like rodents, but there is a general idea that there are certain topics you don’t discuss.
“Most of us are on guard about what we say even when we talk about the weather,” the faculty member continued, saying that student protests at the Shanghai campus would be unthinkable.