The University of Hong Kong’s storied student magazine Undergrad, which once found itself at the center of the city’s fierce political and ideological storms, announced it would cease operations on Sunday after 74 years, declaring that its historical mission "has come to an end."
The official publication of the HKU Students' Union Editorial Board revealed it had failed to recruit new editors for the 2026 term despite launching two separate recruitment drives since last September. In a poignant farewell statement, the editorial board described its closure as "not a matter of regret, but a natural ebb and flow in the tides of history."
Established in 1952, Undergrad began as an irregular English-language publication before switching to Chinese in 1959 under the name Hok Yuen, meaning "a place where academia gathers," while retaining its English title.
For decades, the publication served as a critical catalyst and chronicler of Hong Kong's student activism. It was deeply embedded in seminal social movements, including the Diaoyu Islands protests of the 1970s, the Golden Jubilee School incident, and the early anti-police corruption movements, alongside pioneering coverage on social issues like Hong Kong's political future and LGBTQ+ rights.
However, Undergrad achieved its most controversial milestone in 2014 when it published a special feature titled "Hong Kong Nation: Fate Self-Determination." The feature was later expanded into a book advocating for the city's political "self-determination."
The publication triggered a major political firestorm in 2015 when then-Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying used his annual Policy Address to openly criticize the magazine, warning against its "erroneous claims." Amid the subsequent tightening of national security limits, the book was among nine politically sensitive titles purged from Hong Kong's public libraries in 2021.
