As protests continue to intensify in Honk Kong, the University of British Columbia (UBC) has recommended that exchange students leave the area and is offering assistance to those who require it.

"UBC is working closely to support students who have decided to leave Hong Kong by connecting them to the appropriate academic and student services resources to ensure a smooth transition," Murali Chandrashekaran, UBC’s vice-provost international, said quoted in a media release.

UBC is in contact with 32 exchange students at four universities in Hong Kong, according to CBC News.

Other post-secondary institutions headquartered in Metro Vancouver are taking similar measures.

Simon Fraser University (SFU) is helping 17 students enrolled in classes at Hong Kong schools return to Canada early, according to the Vancouver Sun. The University of Victoria is similarly in touch with eight of its students in Hong Kong “to determine how their situations are impacted, next steps, and travel plans.”

A Government of Canada advisory that was last updated Saturday (November 16) states that citizens who travel to Hong Kong should “exercise a high degree of caution”.

“Political demonstrations of varying sizes are taking place regularly throughout Hong Kong, “ it reads. “Demonstrations have become more frequent and less predictable since November 10. Clashes between police and protesters, as well as acts of vandalism, have also increased.

“Although many protest sites are made public in advance, authorized and unauthorized demonstrations can take place with little or no notice,” the advisory continues. “They can quickly spread to surrounding areas, including those frequented by tourists. Expect road closures and disruptions to traffic and transportation in affected areas. During protests, bus routes, MTR stations, the Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal, the Airport Express and Hong Kong International Airport have temporarily suspended operations, sometimes without warning.”

Street protests developed in Hong Kong in June 2019 in opposition to the Hong Kong government considering allowing extraditions to mainland China. Since then, they’ve grown in size, attracting more than one million people to downtown Hong Kong on certain days. Demonstrations have continued since the summer and grown increasingly violent through November 2019.

Recent weeks have seen Hong Kong university campuses become “the latest battleground for long-running anti-government protests”, according to BBC News.

“The violence is some of the worst seen during months of unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory,” that report continues.

Many universities in Hong Kong have now cancelled classes for the remainder of the semester.

The protests that began last June have morphed from the single issue of extradition into a larger movement that opposes Mainland China’s political control of Hong Kong as a semi-autonomous territory.

Demonstrators’ demands now include political reforms, an independent inquiry into police brutality, and amnesty for protesters who authorities have arrested since June, among others.