National security law protests, ‘propaganda’ songs have no place in Hong Kong schools, says education minister Kevin Yeung
- While the bureau will not create a list of banned songs, ‘schools should know’ which ones cross the line into political territory, Yeung says
- Officials will develop teaching materials for schools on new law and provide training for teachers on using them
The song was “clearly propaganda”, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Thursday, adding that students should also not take it upon themselves to promote the new law.
Asked what songs might be prohibited, Yeung told a local radio programme that the bureau did not intend to create a list, but “schools should know”.
“People are creative, there may be news ones or parodied songs, so we will not say formally which ones [are prohibited],” he said.
Asked whether Do You Hear the People Sing, a song about the French Revolution from the musical Les Miserables, would be allowed, Yeung said it would, but that it depended on the environment and the aims of those singing it.
He added that political advocacy in general should be left outside school, and the bureau would be the one promoting the new law to students when it was fully implemented.
The letter also said students should not chant or post slogans, form human chains, or sing songs containing political messages on campus.
Hong Kong pupils back in school with protests and Covid-19 on their minds
Hong Kong Secondary School Students Action Platform, which is backed by pro-democracy group Demosisto, plans to hold a vote on Sunday to ask pupils if they want to stage a class boycott before the summer holidays begin.
China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, is drafting a national security law that could be imposed on Hong Kong as early as August.
The law’s stated intent is to prevent, stop and punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong, though the city’s opposition politicians and legal scholars warn it could be used to suppress dissent and erode freedoms.
Demosisto is hoping for as many as 10,000 pupils to vote.
On Thursday, Yeung said the bureau objected to the boycott because class had just resumed after being suspended for four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yeung also said the bureau would develop teaching materials for schools on the law and provide training to teachers on how to use them.
But Teddy Tang Chun-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, said Yeung would be better served leaving such matters to individual schools.
“I think [Yeung] shouldn’t send us more letters, because we are already busy,” Tang said.
With Yeung calling for teachers and students to be punished if they go on strike over the new law, Tang urged his peers to listen instead.
“If students are still bothered by societal events and want to express their views … schools should provide a way to communicate with them,” he said.
Punish students, teachers who join strike over security law: education chief
But Tang said he was not convinced that many teachers would be going on strike by taking a day off, as they knew their top priority would be to care for any pupils who show up at school.
Tang also said schools should educate students on the national security law, but only when enough information was available to make the teaching meaningful.
As for Yeung’s claim that politics should stay off campus, Tang said: “From Sun Yat-sen’s point of view, politics is a matter for everyone, and students are people too.”
Sun was a Chinese philosopher, doctor and politician who is referred to as the father of the nation.
Meanwhile, despite the education chief’s warnings, a secondary school student concern group has called for pupils to form a human chain on Friday to protest against the school’s handling of a teacher they said was let go over “political considerations”.
Hong Kong protests: class boycott hits schools on first day of term
According to the Heung To Middle School Hong Kong Indigenous Concern Group, the teacher, surnamed Lee, said she was terminated for reasons including “not sharing the same political views as the school” and allowing students to perform Glory to Hong Kong during music exams.
The school sent an email about the current situation to parents and students on Thursday. While giving no specific reasons for letting Lee go, the notice, which identified Hueng To as a “traditional patriotic school”, said factors taken into account when deciding on contract renewals include “whether the teacher can meet the school’s philosophy and vision”.
The Post has contacted the school for comment.
A member of the student group, meanwhile, said Yeung’s remarks would not deter their plan, as it was an act to “suppress students from voicing opposing views”.
