CY Leung criticised for ‘escalating’ teacher incident
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's "unprecedented" call for a report on a teacher verbally abusing police officers last month has drawn criticism from educators and pan-democrats.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's "unprecedented" call for a report on a teacher verbally abusing police officers last month has drawn criticism from educators and pan-democrats.
The Executive Council was split on the wisdom of Leung's intervention after he asked the education minister on Sunday to file a report on the incident.
The incident has escalated to the society level. It will not dissipate even if Leung kept silent. I guess Leung wants to end the whole row before school starts in September
The initial dispute between teacher Alpais Lam Wai-sze and the police gained attention when a video showing her using offensive language to officers on July 14 went viral on the internet. It triggered a heated debate and prompted a rally three weeks later that descended into a brawl between Lam's supporters and detractors.
"The incident has escalated to the society level. It will not dissipate even if Leung kept silent," said executive councillor Cheung Chi-kong. "I guess Leung wants to end the whole row before school starts in September."
But fellow Exco member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said: "Leung shouldn't intervene personally in Lam's case - his remarks were too high-profile."
Many working in the education sector said they were shocked by Leung's unprecedented public request for the education minister to submit a report on an individual teacher's behaviour.
Some feared that Leung was trying to spread "white terror" to shut people up.
Fung Wai-wah, president of the Professional Teachers' Union, said the union disapproved of Lam's behaviour, but considered it to be a minor issue in comparison with the growing gap between the public and the police.
Ho Hon-kuen, vice-chairman of Education Convergence, said a professional system was in place to deal with teachers suspected of misbehaviour, and that Leung had bypassed the system.
The system includes the school council and the Council on Professional Conduct in Education which reports directly to the permanent secretary for education.
According to the Code of the Education Profession, teachers should refrain from activities that could damage the image of the profession and show respect for the law.
The Education Bureau said last night it would prepare a report on the issue and respond to Leung as soon as possible.
"I've never heard of previous examples of a leader asking a minister to report on a teacher's behaviour - not during the colonial days nor after the handover," Ho said. "[Leung] might have set a bad precedent."
Cyd Ho Sau-lan, a lawmaker from the pan-democratic Labour Party, said: "Leung is introducing denunciation, Cultural Revolution-style, to Hong Kong by mobilising his supporters to attack dissidents violently."
Leung's remarks received support from Independent Police Complaints Commission chairman Jat Sew-tong, who said officers were facing huge difficulties in carrying out their duties.
