Hong Kong doesn’t need teachers who are against national education: John Lee

Hong Kong does not need teachers who refuse to dedicate themselves to national education, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has said, though he stressed such individuals were in the minority in the sector.

The city’s new leader was asked in a televised interview on Saturday how he intended to deal with the trend of teachers quitting over disagreements with what should be taught.

“If they don’t match our requirements, I don’t want their teaching to deviate from our mainstream ideology,” Lee said, vowing to provide “multifaceted” national education in schools.

He said his remarks were centred on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call during a recent visit for Hong Kong to promote Chinese culture and the sentiment of “loving the country, loving Hong Kong”, a mantra cited often by officials and the pro-establishment camp.

But Lee added: “I am also confident that mainstream teachers are very professional and very serious about pushing forward education on this aspect.”

He said national education should not be a stand-alone subject, but one infused into students’ everyday lives so they could learn about the “substance, goal and target” of the matter.

Schools currently had Chinese history as a compulsory subject for lower forms, Lee noted, while teachers would be provided with relevant training, and students would have the opportunity to go on exchange trips to mainland China.

He attributed the 2019 anti-government protests, which many young people had joined, to improper national education, leading the city in the wrong direction, adding that “we have to right the wrong”.