Hong Kong education video comparing city leader to a teacher chosen by a Beijing principal draws criticism

New guidelines for Basic Law instruction for secondary pupils in Hong Kong have drawn criticism from educators for what some call an inappropriate analogy of the relationship between the city and mainland China and how the local leader should be chosen.

In the video describing the relationship between the city and the central government, the narrator said a principal could not manage matters in detail for every class, so he authorised form teachers to do so. As to who should take the role of a form teacher, the narrator said it was for the principal to decide.

Education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen slammed the video as misleading. He said it failed to highlight the “one country, two systems” principle and presented the chief executive as appointed and not elected.

“With this explanation, we do not need to resume political reform,” he said. “Instead [it shows that] we should move towards appointment of [chief executives].”