A campus election at a top Hong Kong university has degenerated into an acrimonious campaign against mainland Chinese candidates, highlighting simmering tensions two months after prodemocracy protests led by local students paralyzed parts of the city.

Mainland students say they have always felt a distance from their local peers, but recent events in the Chinese-controlled city have fueled a burgeoning Hong Kong identity among many younger residents, alongside frustration and anger at Beijing.

"To brainwashed Commie-loving Mainlanders, we despise you!" read a flyer posted on the "Democracy Wall" at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), underscoring the sharpening divide. The flyer has since been removed.