Occupy Central a no-go area in class, Eddie Ng warns
Teachers' turn to get some plain speaking, from their top boss Eddie Ng, about the risks of egging on pupils or taking part in action
The education minister yesterday urged schools not to encourage their pupils to take part in Occupy Central - which he deems "unlawful" - in a reversal of the stance he declared last year.
Teachers and democracy advocates saw the latest remarks by Education Secretary Eddie Ng Hak-kim as an attempt to create fear and put pressure on schools to eschew discussion of the movement.
Ng said: "We appeal to chairpersons of school boards, principals, teachers and parents … not to take part in or arrange for pupils to join the unlawful Occupy Central. It's impossible for [the campaign] not to break the law."
He warned teachers they might be putting their jobs on the line. "Teachers should obey the law. If they are convicted because of participation in unlawful events, they must face ... consequences for their careers."
In March last year, Ng said schools should let pupils "develop their own thoughts" on Occupy and "will not take any retrospective action against teachers" who took pupils to join it.
The campaign vows to mobilise more than 10,000 people to block the main streets of Central if the government fails to offer a satisfactory plan for universal suffrage in the 2017 election of the chief executive. The government plans to put forward its reform proposal later this year.