at the university cafe, gaspar bekes is already planning the next demonstration. says this is about more than just the ceu. mr. bekes: in my opinion, it's a part of a bigger plan -- part of a geopolitical play by illiberal democracies -- or just illiberal states -- such as putin's russia or erdogan's turkey. we know that there were closures at universities in st. petersburg and in turkey. so, i feel this is part of a bigger plan to close down independent academic institutions which foster critical thinking and independent thought. reporter: for the central european university's president michael ignatieff, the new legislation is a frontal attack on his university, launched in a dictatorial manner. mr. ignatieff: in a democratic society -- germany, for example -- if they wanted to change the regulations relating to a university, in a democratic society you bring it forward to the university, you talk, you give them advance warning, you have discussions. we had no advance warning, no discussion, no bilateral exchanges. in fact, they refused to meet us, and so, that'