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Reflections
Hong Kong principal’s Singapore disgrace highlights centuries-old educational standards
School heads in premodern China had to lead by example above all. More recently, principal Lee Cheuk-hing’s failure to do so cost him his job
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Having lived his whole life in the modern cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Wee Kek Koon has an inexplicable fascination with the past.
A Hong Kong school trip to Singapore has become an unexpected talking point back home after a video of a principal losing his temper went viral.
The incident saw Lee Cheuk-hing of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, take part in a heated exchange with security personnel outside a venue in the city state over coach parking arrangements.
In full view of students and colleagues, an agitated Lee used several ill-chosen – some would say vulgar – Cantonese expressions and even pulled faces at two non-Chinese security guards.
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The footage spread quickly across Hong Kong’s social media, drawing attention less to the dispute itself than to the manner in which it unfolded.
The school suspended Lee pending an internal inquiry, while the city’s education bureau also stepped in. Lee later apologised for his failure to “lead by example” and offered his resignation, which was rejected; the school has instead opted to fire him.
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