Hong Kong exam authority employees resign during controversy over history question on Japan’s relations with China

Two stand down from Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, which was asked by Education Bureau to probe ‘inappropriate comments’ online

Resignations emerge as 54,000 sign petition accusing government of interfering with Diploma of Secondary Education exam

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Controversy surrounds a Diploma of Secondary Education question on a history paper relating to Sino-Japanese relations. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:57pm, 16 May 2020Updated: 11:27pm, 16 May 2020

An exam authority employee accused of posting anti-government comments online ahead of a raging controversy in Hong Kong over a history question on Sino-Japanese relations has resigned, along with a colleague from the same department, the Post can reveal.

A source said that Lo Ka-yiu and his subordinate would leave their roles this summer at the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), which was asked by the Education Bureau on Thursday to probe reports of “inappropriate comments” allegedly published by Lo and a third member of staff.

The two resignations emerged on Saturday as more than 54,000 people signed a petition accusing the bureau of interfering in the city’s university entrance exams after officials took the unprecedented step on Friday of asking for the invalidation of a question posed in a history paper a day earlier.

Samuel Yung Wing-ki, HKEAA’s chairman, told the Post on Saturday that “detailed discussions” were required and a decision would not be reached very quickly on whether to strike out the question, which asked candidates if Japan “did more good than harm to China” in the early 20th century.

A source close to Lo said the resignations of the two members of HKEAA staff were effective from August 16, but refused to comment on the nature of their departure, including whether they were asked to leave by top management.

Lo is a senior manager of assessment development, working in a division responsible for the development of question papers on Diploma of Secondary Education exams and assessments, as well as marking scripts and grading candidate performance.

He and the more junior colleague worked on liberal studies, another controversial subject in the city. An HKEAA spokesman said it would not comment on personnel changes.

Pro-Beijing media outlets reported on Wednesday – the day before the controversial DSE exam – that two authority employees had made inappropriate comments on social media.