Punish any students or teachers who join planned strike over national security law, Hong Kong education chief tells schools
- Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung says schools should not allow youths to be exploited for political ends by organisers of the action
- But head of principals’ association says any problem with students should be dealt with through education
Pupils were being “exploited” for the political ends of the labour unions and student activists organising the action, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said in a letter sent to all primary and secondary school principals on Wednesday. Such manipulation came at the expense of the students’ interests and prospects, he said.
The organisers are planning to hold a referendum on Sunday on the proposed strike and will go ahead if it receives 60 per cent backing. But Yeung dismissed the vote as meaningless with “no constitutional basis or legal effect” and asked schools to dissuade students from joining.
“Any teachers taking part in class boycotts advocated by [the groups] are not only deliberately failing to perform their jobs and neglecting their duties but also purposefully bringing politics into schools,” he said. “It is a demonstration to students of an expression of political demands in breach of established rules.”
