Hong Kong protests: school principal hoping to bring warring sides together one sharing session at a time
- Meeting with a former student inspired Li Kin-man to conduct forums involving pupils, teachers, and barristers
- The secondary school head plans to invite police to session in January
When a student protester told principal Li Kin-man in August that young people needed their voices heard, the idea of conducting sharing sessions between teachers and pupils was born.
Four months on, Li has conducted four such sharing sessions, inviting not only teachers, students, but also barristers, journalists, and social workers who helped at protests.
And now he is planning to ask police officers to join next month’s talk.
“I don’t expect to change a person’s view 180 degrees through a single sharing session,” he said. “Maybe some teachers have negative thoughts about police, and maybe some police officers have negative views about the education sector. But, it’s important to start a conversation as a first step.”
The Kwai Chung secondary school head believes that in the face of serious mistrust between different members of society, it is important to find common ground through a genuine exchange of views.
