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Hong Kong exam chiefs admit they would have to scrap controversial history-exam question if ordered to by city’s leader Carrie Lam

  • Lam says independent exam authority made mistake and hints at using powers of her office to step into row over test
  • She dismisses accusations of political interference and says government has important role to play as gatekeeper of education

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam meets the press before her Executive Council meeting on Tuesday. Photo: Robert Ng

Hong Kong’s exam authority has said it would have to scrap a controversial question in this year’s history test if ordered to do so by the city’s leader.

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Tuesday’s admission by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) secretary general So Kwok-sang came just hours after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the authority had made a mistake.

Speaking before her weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam hinted that she could use the powers of her office to remove the question on Sino-Japanese relations, which has caused a furious backlash in some quarters.

“The incident this time concerns a professional error. It is not, as some have suggested, an incident involving politics overshadowing education,” she said.

“Until this moment, I had not intervened in the incident. I didn’t [tell] the examination authority what they should do. I didn't invoke the power granted to the chief executive under the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance to take action.

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“But I won’t evade the issue if I need to safeguard the quality and aims of education, as well as to protect students one day.”

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