The head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong has denied attempting to 'threaten' the government by saying the church would give up running some schools if amendments to the Education Ordinance are passed.
In an article published yesterday in the Catholic weekly newspaper the Sunday Examiner, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun said: 'We are hardly in any position to threaten the government.
'If we find ourselves in a position where we have no choice but to give back some schools, we will do it with regret.'
The Education (Amendment) Bill has drawn criticism from the church because it would take control of school management away from sponsoring bodies such as religious groups. Instead, it would give representatives of teachers, parents, alumni and community representatives 40 per cent of the seats on management committees.
Bishop Zen said on Saturday the church could launch legal action against the government, arguing that the amendment violated the Basic Law as it would strip the church of its right to operate schools and alter its role as a school-running organisation.
He said the media had exaggerated his comments that the church would stop running some schools, and the Sunday Examiner printed a transcript of an interview with several reporters on April 6.