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Organisers of an unofficial referendum with secondary school pupils as the electorate have been accused of ‘using’ young people in their political campaign. Photo: Sam Tsang

National security law: Beijing’s offices in Hong Kong take aim at organisers of class boycotts

  • Joshua Wong and others accused of exploiting pupils in attempt to derail legislation
  • Liaison office supports education chief who urged schools to discipline participants, while government warns civil servants about neutrality
Beijing’s two offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs joined the local government on Friday to ramp up pressure on activists planning an unofficial referendum to build support for general strikes and class boycotts against the national security law being tailor-made for the city.

The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) accused youth activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and others of exploiting secondary school pupils in a campaign to derail the legislation, which aims to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.

The central government’s liaison office applauded the city’s education minister for urging schools to take a hardline approach in disciplining those who boycott class, as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s government condemned one of the unions involved in the June 20 vote for tarnishing the civil service’s reputation.

Punish pupils, teachers who strike over security law: Hong Kong education chief

“For civil servants who blatantly violate the civil service code, we will follow up seriously,” a spokesman warned, referring to the protocol requiring government workers to uphold political neutrality.

The Union for New Civil Servants, which emerged from last year’s anti-government protest movement, rejected the criticism, saying it deeply regretted the government’s disregard for its efforts to gauge colleagues’ views on Beijing’s imminent legislation for Hong Kong.

The plebiscite at the centre of the controversy, originally planned for Sunday but postponed until June 20 because of the prospect of bad weather, is being co-organised by the Hong Kong Secondary School Students Action Platform and is backed by Wong’s political party Demosisto and more than 20 trade unions linked with the anti-government movement.

They are seeking the endorsement of pupils and workers for a class boycott and general strike before the start of the school summer holidays.

Attacking the plans, an HKMAO spokesman said: “Some people have extended their black hands into schools and minors to hold the so-called class boycott, trying to use students as ‘shells’ and ‘tools’ to stop the National People’s Congress Standing Committee from passing the national security bill for Hong Kong.”

The spokesman named Demosisto, its leader Wong and Isaac Cheng Ka-long, of the action platform, when he said their targeting of young people should be added to their list of offences.

Joshua Wong was one of those singled out by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Wong said the referendum would proceed regardless of the HKMAO’s “misleading propaganda”.

“Now is the time to exert pressure and stop the implementation of this evil [national security] law,” he said.

The HKMAO said the education many Hong Kong schools provided had “undoubtedly” deviated from the correct path of the “one country, two systems principle”, and warned that the political chaos in the city would not end if the education sector was not reformed.

What is Hong Kong’s national security law?

Noting that 40 per cent of protesters arrested during the year-long unrest were students, the HKMAO said: “What has lured them onto the dark road to breaking the law, vandalising the homeland and confronting their country?

“Hong Kong’s education must uphold … the core values such as patriotism, rule of law, self-improvement, tolerance and harmony, and wipe off any remarks which incite separatism and violence off the campus.”

02:23

Beijing remains ‘very firm’ on national security law for Hong Kong, says city’s leader Carrie Lam

Beijing remains ‘very firm’ on national security law for Hong Kong, says city’s leader Carrie Lam

In a separate statement, Beijing’s liaison office in the city said some organisations had brought politics onto campus, and that it firmly supported the local government in strengthening the teaching of the constitution, the Basic Law, national security and national education.

Schools in Hong Kong have been caught in the crossfire as the city this month marks the first anniversary of the anti-government protests, which were sparked last June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

The Education Bureau said on Friday night it would work with schools to protect students from being misled or provoked into breaking the law.

The bureau added it would strengthen education on the Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, as well law and order and values, so that young people were conscious of their national identity.

Pupils defy education chief’s warning over Hong Kong security law protests

Education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Thursday warned pupils not to protest in schools against the coming legislation, to be passed by next week at the earliest. That included the singing of songs with political messages, he added.

It was also revealed this week that new teachers would be required to complete mandatory training on professional conduct and national development. The Education Bureau scheme starts from September and is the first move of its kind.

Teddy Tang Chun-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, said the education sector had made clear its opposition to class boycotts but worried there was a lack of space for communication and recovery in a “polarised community”.

“We are worried it would not be beneficial to students. In the past 12 months, and in the future, I’m confident that educators would be dedicated to their duties,” he said.

James Lam Yat-fung, former chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, believed the statements made by the central government were out of “concern for students’ well-being” rather than pressuring schools.

“Given the number of students arrested [amid protests], it is understandable that it has raised concerns [from different bodies] … Students should be protected and should not make decisions based on mere impulse,” he said.

Ip Kin-yuen, education lawmaker and vice-president of the Professional Teachers’ Union, criticised the Beijing offices’ statements for “putting the blame on schools”, saying the conflict did not originate in the education sector but stemmed from the government’s decisions.

The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers supported both statements as a reflection that Beijing was “highly concerned” about the city's education system.

Additional reporting by Natalie Wong

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: activists in firing line over vote on strike
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