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Hong Kong's steady descent into a police state

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  1. #1041

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Do we know what was actually happening in the classroom? Were 2 sides of an argument given? I don't think the content of the problem have been disclosed.
    Am I right in thinking that some teachers have been disciplined for comments made on social media which had nothing to do with their work?

    Also, I imagine basic teaching of human rights, democracy, freedoms could be interpreted as inappropriate indoctrination of students.

    The principal and vice-principals at the school, meanwhile, were given reprimands for what the bureau said was their “poor supervision”, while other teachers at the school were given warning letters over the lesson plans and teaching materials they had used.

    The bureau said the school had also punished the teachers in accordance with the existing mechanism, which includes suspensions or postponement of salary increases, and some of the staff had left their jobs.
    It sounds like whatever was being taught was school wide and integrated into programmes of study and lesson plans? I'd be surprised if it was blatant teaching of pro independence - surely the teachers/management wouldn't be so stupid?

    I am talking as a retired teacher and my experience of schools in the UK and in HK is that the expectation is you remain non partisan in matters of politics. However, you would encourage free thinking and in this regime even that appears to be outlawed.
    Last edited by Pauljoecoe; 06-10-2020 at 06:20 PM.

  2. #1042

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pauljoecoe:
    Am I right in thinking that some teachers have been disciplined for comments made on social media which had nothing to do with their work?

    Also, I imagine basic teaching of human rights, democracy, freedoms could be interpreted as inappropriate indoctrination of students.
    Perhaps. We really don't know what the government believed was sufficient to stop this person from teaching. Haven't people been advised they may be threatening national security for holding up blank sheets of paper. There may be a very valid reason but we just don't know.

  3. #1043

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Do we know what was actually happening in the classroom? Were 2 sides of an argument given? I don't think the content of the problem have been disclosed.
    If it pleases the court, I shall amend my statement to: If indeed he was promoting his political point of view then I believe that was not appropriate.

    I made the assumption that he leaned in that direction as I have not yet seen a public defense on his behalf but it's entirely possible that he is being railroaded for a variety of reasons that are not being made public.

    In any case, it's a pretty strong message being sent to schools and their staff to fall in line.

  4. #1044

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aramis:
    On the upside, he isn't YET being prosecuted.

    https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...0-20201005.htm
    I know what you mean, but on a serious note, that might only be a question of time. Scant consolation and hardly reassuring given the potential of worst fate to come.

  5. #1045

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Do we know what was actually happening in the classroom? Were 2 sides of an argument given? I don't think the content of the problem have been disclosed.
    Some info here:
    https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...8-20201006.htm

    One father told RTHK that his two children are in primary two and three at the school, and that one of his children was taught by the teacher in question last year.

    "I went through the worksheet last night. I personally don’t think there’s any problem with it as there isn’t any premise for a pro-independence answer," he said.

    "If our kids in Hong Kong are not equipped with critical thinking skills, I’m afraid there will be more education problems in the future. This is my personal thought.

    ...

    Another father told RTHK that school is a place where kids learn about what is right and wrong.

    "This place should allow students to differentiate between right or wrong under teachers’ guidance freely. I hope even after this situation happened – this time it happened in this school – other teachers are able to provide a space for kids to discuss what is right or wrong."

    ...
    But another father, however, said he thinks teachers should be disqualified if they can't teach their students using proper materials, adding that he will pay more attention to his child's homework in future.

  6. #1046

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    Some more information here.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...t-independence

    Local media reports said the teacher had shown the class a video featuring a pro-independence activist, and had then asked the students questions including “what is freedom of speech?”, and “according to the video, what is the reason for advocating Hong Kong independence?”

    The bureau said several teachers were warned over the incident, and that it would work to find other “black sheep” accused of professional misconduct.

  7. #1047

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    As added information, I found out discussing with local friends that this school is apparently well established, has an excellent reputation and feeds many students into DBS and DGS. It seems they didn't pick on a low profile school to set an example.

    East_coast and Coolboy like this.

  8. #1048

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aramis:
    If it pleases the court, I shall amend my statement to: If indeed he was promoting his political point of view then I believe that was not appropriate.

    I made the assumption that he leaned in that direction as I have not yet seen a public defense on his behalf but it's entirely possible that he is being railroaded for a variety of reasons that are not being made public.

    In any case, it's a pretty strong message being sent to schools and their staff to fall in line.

    It is not a court. It is the assumption the teacher was advocating independence. There is still no evidence this was the case.

    Advocating independence and discussing independence should be very different.

  9. #1049

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    Regina Ip is fast becoming the female version of CY Leung, except of course, Ip has not serve as the CE. But from the looks of it, she cannot hide the fact she wants the job real bad, sucking up to Beijing at every opportunity. Like her latest repulsive article, surprising spewed out at the New York Times:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/o...urity-law.html


  10. #1050

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aramis:
    As added information, I found out discussing with local friends that this school is apparently well established, has an excellent reputation and feeds many students into DBS and DGS. It seems they didn't pick on a low profile school to set an example.
    It seems it went a little further than just sacking the one teacher

    The principal and vice-principals at the school, meanwhile, were given reprimands for what the bureau said was their “poor supervision”, while other teachers at the school were given warning letters over the lesson plans and teaching materials they had used.

    The bureau said the school had also punished the teachers in accordance with the existing mechanism, which includes suspensions or postponement of salary increases, and some of the staff had left their jobs.
    https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...0-20201005.htm