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Letters | Hong Kong’s DSE history exam question wasn’t meant to be taken at face value
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The Diploma of Secondary Education exam question asking if candidates agreed that Japan did more good than harm to China in 1900-45 has sparked considerable controversy. The question was accompanied by some material about Japanese support for China in the early 20th century.
Some hold the view that this question was biased and leading. However, the candidates were asked about the 1900-45 period. In other words, they were expected to mention, and perhaps emphasise, the Japanese invasion of China and the inhumane atrocities inflicted on the Chinese population in the 1930s and 1940s. It would be unthinkable and even idiotic for candidates to omit these horrendous historical facts and just rely on the provided material.
Seen from this perspective, the exam question actually invited candidates to mention the invasion and atrocities to support an argument that Japan did more harm than good in that period. Therefore, the question did not adopt a pro-Japanese stance, as some have argued. Instead of taking the wording of the question at face value, one should read between the lines and argue accordingly.
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Francis Lo, North Point
Wrong time for hot-button exam question
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I write in response to Frank Ching’s column “Exam furore misses the point about history” (May 21). Mr Ching drew our attention to a diplomatic remark made by Chairman Mao Zedong, attributing the success of the Chinese Communist Party in coming to power to the Japanese invasion of China in 1937-1945. Solely on the basis of that remark, Mr Ching argued that some good might have come of the Japanese invasion.
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