Law requires Hong Kong exam authority to comply with chief executive’s orders, education officials say
- Reminder comes as testing supervisor announces more time needed to review Education Bureau’s request to remove controversial history question
- Students were asked if Japan ‘did more good than harm’ to China in the early 20th century, sparking criticism from pro-establishment figures and Beijing
Hong Kong education officials reminded the exam authority of its duty to comply with directives issued by the chief executive after the statutory body said it would need more time to decide whether to agree to their request to scrap a university entrance history test question that asked whether Japan “did more good than harm” to China in the early 20th century.
The Education Bureau made the statement at 11pm on Monday, an hour after the authority said that given the many considerations involved, further discussion was required to review in detail how to handle the issue and reach a suitable arrangement. Council members had agreed to fully cooperate with the bureau on their review of the authority’s existing question-setting mechanisms, it said.
A bureau spokeswoman pointed to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance, which states the chief executive may give the supervisor direction in relation to matters that affect the public interest and which must be followed.
The authority’s meeting, which Deputy Secretary for Education Hong Chan Tsui-wah attended along with another education official, was held a day after Hong published a 2,500-word article on the bureau’s website defending the request made last Friday. Hong called the question “completely unreasonable” and said exams should never lead students to discuss the positive values of invasions, massacres or ethnic cleansing.
Some student groups threatened on Monday to launch a legal battle against the authority if it scrapped the question in the Diploma of Secondary Education exam.