HONG KONG • A history examination question asking Hong Kong students to assess colonial Japan's occupation of China sparked a rebuke from Beijing yesterday, and reignited a row over academic freedoms in the semi-autonomous city.

The criticism comes as Hong Kong's schools and universities - some of the best in Asia - become the latest ideological battleground in a city convulsed by political unrest. China's foreign ministry and state media rounded on a university entrance exam question that asked students whether they agreed Japan "did more good than harm" to China from 1900 to 1945.

"Hong Kong's education sector must not become a chicken coop without a roof," the foreign ministry wrote on the Facebook page of its Hong Kong office, using a metaphor referring to the idea that students should be protected from negative influences or ideas.

The nationalist Global Times newspaper said: "Hong Kong's (university exam) question leads students to be traitors."

After the criticism from the mainland, Hong Kong's Education Secretary Kevin Yeung announced that the question would not be marked by examiners because it was "biased" and had "seriously hurt the feelings and dignity of the Chinese people". He also ordered the exam board to report to him on how the question was included in the test.

Japan's colonial occupation of parts of China between 1900 and 1945 was brutal and led to millions of deaths. The exam question went viral on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo yesterday, with a hashtag on the topic receiving over 400 million views with many comments condemning Hong Kong.

Hong Kong lawmaker Ip Kin Yuen, who represents the education sector, said students would be expected to know and write about Japan's violent excesses in an exam question assessing the country's legacy within China. "Students... can use what they know to discuss against a statement, this is very common in a history exam," he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE