In Hong Kong, universities have opened for a new term, but this time with increased security arrangements. It comes after the autumn semester was suspended early due to safety concerns over the anti-government protests. CGTN's He Weiwei has more.

This is how the Hong Kong Polytechnic University looked like in November 2019. Now it has re-opened its campus, after cleaning up and deploying additional security guards. Only students and staff are allowed in.

STUDENT Hong Kong Polytechnic University "This is new. Usually, we do not tap our access cards to get in the school, now at every entrance and exit, they've set up these measures. This is different, we don't have any security measures before."

HE WEIWEI Hong Kong "We're offered a tour inside the campus. Most of the areas are back to normal. But some places are still sealed. For example, the building behind me, its walls have been burnt to black. You can see some machines, worker are busy with repairment."

A similar situation can be seen in other universities in HK, most of which started the new semester in the middle of January. The Chinese University of HK estimated the cost of repairs could be up to 70 mln HKD, or 9 mln USD. Violent clashes broke out between anti-government protesters and police in November at multiple campuses across HK, forcing them to end the semester early.

STUDENT Hong Kong Polytechnic University "Last semester was only three months, most of the time I had to stay at home in HK, the experience was terrible. I think the next semester will be better. I hope so."

The social unrest in HK has raised concerns of decreased enrollment, especially for non-local students. City University of HK says some have decided to cancel their exchange programs for the new semester. While international education consultancy IDP says inquiries about studying abroad have increased by more than 10 percent since the protests broke out in June. HWW, CGTN, HK.