Basic Law live broadcast for schools? Hong Kong pupils may not know enough to benefit, Beijing adviser says
Think tank vice-president Lau Siu-kai says material could be made more accessible, however, with help from teachers and subtitles
A leading Beijing adviser on Hong Kong affairs admitted on Thursday that plans to conduct a live broadcast of a Basic Law seminar at secondary schools next month might not achieve their intended purpose.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a Beijing-associated think tank, feared the lack of knowledge about the city’s mini-constitution among pupils meant they might not fully understand the speech by Basic Law Committee chairman Li Fei.
Li has been invited to give a 50-minute speech at the Basic Law seminar, to be held on November 16 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
Lau was speaking on a radio interview on Thursday morning. Asked about plans by the Education Bureau to invite schools to broadcast the session, Lau said it was up to each school to decide whether to do so.
“The target audience of [Li Fei’s] speech was not originally intended to be secondary school pupils, but rather those with ample knowledge of the Basic Law,” he said.
However, he said he believed teachers could play a part by explaining Li’s speech, while subtitles could be added to help pupils overcome the language barrier, as the speech would be in Mandarin.
