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The Hong Kong Education Authority justifies the revocation of the teacher’s license by stating that it has disseminated material advocating an independent Hong Kong, which is a violation of Hong Kong law.
The decision is supported by Hong Kong political leader Carrie Lam, who believes it is time to remove the ‘bad apples’ from the education system.
– Our work to get the black sheep out of the education area must continue, Carrie Lam told reporters.
But from the defenders of democracy From one point of view, the decision is just one of many confirming his concern that freedom of expression in Hong Kong is declining. A concern that has only grown since Hong Kong received a new security law last summer that prohibits, among other things, blowout attempts, aspirations for independence and cooperation with foreign powers.
Other signs of the harsher weather are that books written by democracy activists were removed from public libraries in July and that university professor Benny Tai was fired this summer due to his involvement in the 2014 democracy protests.
The reason the teacher was examined was that he showed the students, at the age of 10-11 years, a television documentary about the democracy activist and defender of independence Andy Chan Hotin.
When the film ended, the students were tasked with answering four questions about, among other things, what freedom of speech is and how independence advocates justify their position.
The movie was screened before the Security Act. it came into force but is, according to the Hong Kong Education Authority, a violation of how Hong Kong’s legal status is defined in the so-called mini constitution.
– The content of the teaching material was crooked and at an angle and has had a serious detrimental effect on students, writes the educational authority in a statement where it also appears that warnings have been sent to other teachers who have used the same material.
Increased control over education has recently become one of the most important tools for Beijing’s friendly Hong Kong political leadership to suppress democratic forces, which last year wreaked havoc with large demonstrations in Hong Kong.
The decision to deprive the teacher on his leave is criticized both by the teachers’ union and by Amnesty International. The union accuses the educational authority of “disqualifying and intimidating” the school administration in a reprehensible way. Joshua Rozenweig, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East and Southeast Asia, warns that teachers will find it increasingly difficult to address policy and human rights issues in the future.
The father of one of the children in the class tells a radio station in Hong Kong, RTHK, that he read the form the students had to fill out and did not interpret it as a defense of independence.
– If our children in Hong Kong are not equipped with the ability to think critically, I am afraid we will have problems with education in the future, says the father to RTHK.
