James Hon
One of the most prominent faces of the recent anti-national education protests, 63-year-old retired schoolteacher James Hon took part in a hunger strike until the government backed down on the plan to introduce national education in schools. Hon, who is also the deputy director of the Professional Teachers’ Union founded by Szeto Wah, demonstrated his iron will by refusing food for 171 hours. He discusses local politics with Grace Tsoi.
I started teaching in 1967, when I was 16 years old. I joined the profession by chance. A neighbor of mine told me there was a vacancy in his school, and I scored the job. I have taught in many types of schools—prestigious schools, boys’ schools, girls’ schools, co-educational schools and even village schools.
The Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union [HKPTU] has been criticized, and I think some of the criticisms are fair. They used very conservative means to protest against national education, and it was very different from the kids from Scholarism. It was also very slow. They were led by the masses, instead of leading the masses.
Some members of the union say I am very radical, but I always tell them that Szeto Wah [founder of the union] was the most radical.
I joined the union in 2001, and I spent ten years with Uncle Wah. Some reporters said that he was my idol. I would say that he’s an elder who I respected a lot. I learnt perseverance and integrity from him.
Before I went to the rally on September 1, I left a note for my wife and daughter. I wrote: I am joining the rally and I might stay overnight. But I had already made up my mind to join the hunger strike. My daughter’s friend monitored the online news and told her that I was hunger striking.
I didn’t feel dizzy during the fast, but I was very tired. I even dared not even laugh too hard. The doctors told me to sit in a wheelchair, and I had a team of medical staff watching over me. There were a dozen doctors and nurses standing by—I have never been served by so many medical staff in my life!