‘Students can discuss anything under guidance of teachers’: Hong Kong education minister breaks silence on independence talk on campus
Secretary for Education Eddie Ng’s remarks come after meeting in Beijing with mainland education officials
Hong Kong’s education minister spelled out on Thursday that students could discuss the highly sensitive issue of independence for the city, but under the supervision of teachers and within the limits of the Basic Law.
After a meeting with top Ministry of Education officials in Beijing, Eddie Ng Hak-kim broke his silence on the raging debate for the first time since the Education Bureau caused a storm by warning over the weekend that teachers could lose their jobs if they encouraged pupils to engage in independence advocacy talk.
But Ng left questions unanswered as to how teachers should guide students and whether they would be disqualified if they cited the pro-independence camp’s views in liberal studies classes.
Without specifying which side brought up the topic, Ng said he exchanged views with ministry officials on independence “invading schools”, and they supported the Hong Kong government’s stance on not allowing advocacy on campuses.
But he clarified that the city’s government would handle the issue and decide related policies on its own, without directions from Beijing.