Hong Kong’s education chief switches stance on appointment of deputy and says political views will now be a factor
Two weeks ago, amid rumours of pro-Beijing educator landing No 2 job, both minister Kevin Yeung and his boss Carrie Lam said emphasis would be on individual capability
Hong Kong’s education minister said on Thursday that political orientation would be a factor in the appointment of his deputy – two weeks after both he and the city’s leader suggested otherwise.
Choi, speaking out for the first time on Thursday, said that whoever became deputy secretary should care about students’ needs and the problems of the education system.
She was vice-president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education workers and previously oversaw the compilation of a booklet praising Beijing’s economic and political institutions as the “China Model”. Critics said it promoted national education, a controversial idea that was shelved in 2012 after large-scale protests amid claims that such lessons would amount to brainwashing.
Ip Kin-yuen, the pro-democracy lawmaker for the education sector, and others have criticised her pro-mainland stance and expressed fears that her appointment would lead to another push to implement national education by the new government under Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.