Hundreds of Hong Kong students skip school in call for action on climate change, joining global day of protest
- Marchers urge Environment Bureau to give youngsters a voice when it comes to overseeing policies and driving bigger climate initiatives
- Parents gave students permission to join strike but education authorities called event a disruption to learning
Around 1,000 children skipped classes and took to the streets with their parents on Friday to urge the Hong Kong government to stop turning a blind eye to climate change.
Friday was the only day the Hong Kong pupils could get away with skipping classes, as they had handed in parents’ permission letters to their schools beforehand. Still, the education authorities called the march a disruption to learning.
“Be the solution, not the pollution! There’s no planet b,” the protesters chanted, as they marched from Central to government headquarters in Admiralty, following the lead of a global student environmental movement that originated in Sweden.
Marching proudly and carrying a sign that took two hours to make were 10-year-old Caleb Chan and his classmates from an international school in Central.