HONG KONG-The Students' Union of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology drew fire from alumni and fellow students on Thursday, after it called the novel coronavirus pandemic "Chinese pneumonia", and accused it of dealing a heavy blow to the global economy.

The union also complained about the pandemic's impact on the university in a social media post on Wednesday, after the school reported a confirmed infection who recently visited Japan and then the United States.

A group of HKUST alumni and students voiced "indignation and condemnation" against the union's comments, calling for the university authorities to follow up on the incident.

The student union's improper wordings do not represent the thoughts of the majority of HKUST students, they said in a strongly worded statement. The union's wayward behavior has given rise to much anger on the campus, the statement read.

"No logical-minded people would discriminate against the victims. No empathetic hearts would exploit a tragedy to stir up hatred. We should be rational and show kindness in this difficult time."

As of Thursday evening, the union's post on social media had received more than 100 thumbs-downs and nearly 2,000 comments.

"At this time, everyone should unite to fight the virus. But look what you have done. Trying to smear a nation by naming the virus after it. Shame on you!" one user commented.

On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, several HKUST alumni tried to clarify that the union statement does not represent the stance of the university and teachers.

"I have never participated in the union's activities during my four years at the HKUST. The student union is more like a political party that promote its own special interests," one user said.