Xinhua takes 'lawless' HK schools to task
Criticism from China's state media follows controversy over HK history exam question
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HONG KONG • Chinese state media said Hong Kong schools have become "lawless" as controversy builds over a history question in a school exam, rekindling tensions over academic freedoms in the semi-autonomous city.
Beijing and some Hong Kong officials have frequently flagged the education system as a possible breeding ground for the large-scale, often violent pro-democracy protests which roiled the city in the second half of last year.
The latest row was sparked by a question in a Diploma of Secondary Education test, which asked students to argue whether Japan had done "more good than harm to China during the period between 1900 and 1945".
A Xinhua commentary late last Friday said Hong Kong schools had failed to "decolonise" and that the territory's education system had not developed in line with the "one country, two systems" rule.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a pact with former colonial master Britain that the city would have a high degree of autonomy and enjoy some freedoms unavailable in the mainland.
"The schools seem to have become a lawless place that can unscrupulously promote heresies, attack the 'one country, two systems' and discredit the nation state," Xinhua wrote on its website.
"Some immature students have been tricked into use by the anti-China forces and have become pawns to disrupt Hong Kong."
Hong Kong Education Secretary Kevin Yeung has asked the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) to investigate why the question was part of the history examination taken by 5,200 students, and asked for it to be invalidated.
The question "seriously hurt the feelings and dignity of the Chinese people who suffered great pain during the Japanese invasion of China", Mr Yeung said last Friday.
Public broadcaster RTHK reported last Saturday, citing unnamed sources, that two officials from the HKEAA had resigned following the controversy.
In a recent interview with the pro-Beijing publication Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government would examine the future structure of the liberal studies subject, which is part of the university entrance exam curriculum.
A government attempt in 2012 to introduce "national education" in Hong Kong to instil patriotism and promote appreciation of mainland China was scrapped after being met with large protests.
REUTERS
