Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Are Hong Kong’s teachers radicalising youth? Claim draws war of words

Are Hong Kong’s teachers radicalising youth? Claim draws war of words

CY Leung says elements of the profession are polluting young minds. Lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen counters, saying radicalism is being fuelled by government’s contempt for the public.

A war of words erupted on Sunday between former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and a lawmaker representing teachers after the ex-leader accused elements of the profession of radicalising the city’s youth.

Leung also defended his controversial naming and shaming on Facebook of 18 teachers charged over last year’s anti-government protests, a move critics likened to Cultural Revolution-era persecution.

Lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, of the Professional Teachers’ Union, which has a 100,000-strong membership, accused Leung of hypocrisy for ignoring the government’s role in driving young people to radicalism.

Leung told a radio programme on Sunday that while social unrest had broken out in many parts of the world, only Hong Kong’s protests
involved the arrest of more than 1,000 under 18s and over 100 schoolteachers.

“We have to admit that there must be something wrong with Hong Kong’s education,” said Leung, who is now vice-chairman of Beijing’s advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

“Where do the arrested young people learn this from? Who are their ‘close contacts’? I believe a fair portion of them are teachers and they are the black sheep.”

The privacy commissioner said it had received 17 complaints about Leung’s disclosure on his Facebook page of the personal details of teachers charged in relation to the protests.

But the former leader denied he had breached privacy laws, insisting he simply collated the information from existing media reports.

Citing a British example, Leung said the country’s Teaching Regulation Agency routinely published the names of teachers under investigation. He argued parents had the right to know the identity of these teachers so they could protect their children.

Leung’s latest remarks drew strong criticism from opposition lawmaker Ip, who represents the education sector in the Legislative Council.

Ip argued that it was the government’s disregard of public opinion and police’s abuse of power that was fuelling the radicalisation of the city’s young people.

“It is hypocritical for Leung to pretend he does not see the crux of the problem and selectively attack teachers,” he said on social media.

Ip also slammed Leung for failing to acknowledge that the Teaching Regulation Agency he cited did not allow anonymous complaints and also had a fair-hearing mechanism.

Leung has been actively pushing the government to publicly identify teachers involved in professional misconduct, and their schools, amid opposition from education officials citing privacy and other concerns.

The 803 Funds Limited – the group the former city leader founded last year to trace anti-government protesters allegedly involved in criminality – earlier applied to the High Court seeking a judicial review to force education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung to publish the teachers’ details.

Earlier this month, a teacher from the private Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong became the first to be taken off the professional register for “promoting Hong Kong independence” in the classroom.

The staff member was said to have posed four questions to Primary Five pupils studying life education after showing them a television documentary featuring pro-independence activist Andy Chan Ho-tin, including asking them whether they agreed with his banned party’s manifesto.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×