“I was completely stunned when he mentioned violence so bluntly,” said the 32-year-old, who was born and raised in China. In Britain, “Cafe Scientifique,” a laid-back science debate forum, kicked off in 1998 and “Pint of Science,” a three-day science festival, launched in May 2013. Unlike Western universities, which generally welcome the public, most Chinese campuses remain fenced off, keeping their academic resources exclusive to students, faculty and authorized personnel. Nationalist voices online have also grown into a powerful unofficial force policing speech across Chinese social media. Liang, who deemed the state-building talk “bold,” said he loves these academic pub sessions but suspects they will eventually face restriction.

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Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Liang Xiao, urbanites, Liang, ”, …, Lei Ya, Cinnamon Wu, Wu, Jerry Zhang, “ It’s, ” Wu, Zhang, Jerry Zhang Elephant, China’s, They’ve, Lei, Kang Siqin, Kang, ” Kang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, American, Guangzhou –, Harvard University, CNN, ” University, Communist Party, Chinese University of Hong Locations: Hong Kong, Shanghai, China, “, China’s, Beijing, Guangzhou, West, Britain, ”, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen