Current location:travel >>
Attend flag ceremony or miss key math exam, Hong Kong student told — Radio Free Asia
travel11People have gathered around
IntroductionA Hong Kong school forced at least one high school examination candidate to stand through a lengthy ...
A Hong Kong school forced at least one high school examination candidate to stand through a lengthy flag-raising ceremony and official speech to mark China's "National Security Education Day" right before their exam, threatening not to let him enter the examination hall if he didn't comply, according to a prominent education blogger.
Staff at the Shun Tak Fraternal Association Lee Shau Kee College in Kwai Chung told the student, who had arrived early to take his crucial Diploma of Secondary Education, or DSE, math exam on Monday, that he wouldn't be allowed into the exam hall if he didn't first attend the formal ceremony in the school's covered playground, the @edulancet Instagram account, which covers educational issues, reported.
Yeung Wing Yu, who runs the account, told RFA Cantonese that he had confirmed that at least one student had been treated this way, and had received more generalized complaints about the incident from several more.
He said the school's actions came against a background of rampant politicization of Hong Kong's schools.
"When everything is politicized, even students who are purely there to take their exams aren't exempt," Yeung said. "The fundamental manifestation of this politicization is that everything must be done for show."
"The flag-raising ceremony is a show ... forcing DSE candidates to take part in these activities is a part of that show," he said.
‘Patriotic education’
Flag-raising ceremonies have been mandatory in Hong Kong schools since 2021, amid an ongoing ideological crackdown following the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
In a written reply to RFA Cantonese, S.T.F.A. Lee Shau Kee College confirmed that a flag-raising ceremony had taken place in school that day.
But it denied that students had been threatened with disciplinary action if they didn’t attend the ceremony, and said that nobody had been denied entry to the examination hall.
“The examination went ahead without a hitch,” the statement said.
The city's Education Bureau also didn't deny the incident. Instead, it said that no one had been denied access to the examination hall during the incident.
The Bureau also declined to clarify whether exam candidates are generally expected to attend patriotic ceremonies on the same day as their exams.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party is moving to step up "patriotic education" in schools, universities and religious institutions across the country, including in Hong Kong, in a move likely designed to quash potential political challenges to party leader Xi Jinping's authoritarian rule.
Patriotic education is closely linked with an ongoing emphasis on "national security education," which encourages people to inform on each other, and regards public dissent and peaceful political opposition as a potential threat to the authorities.
Institutions across Hong Kong marked "National Security Education Day" on Monday with lavish flag-waving ceremonies, complete in some cases with goose-stepping officers in uniform and military bands playing rousing communist marching tunes.
According to the @edulancet post, Hong Kong had previously adopted a policy of having students take their exams at a school other than the one they attend in a bid to minimize cheating opportunities.
High pressure exams
But the government has reversed this policy in recent years, meaning that staff in schools see students as needing to comply with school rules rather than purely as exam candidates on some of the highest-pressure days of their young lives.
"There are a lot of formulas they have to memorize for that math exam," Yeung said. "Everyone was using the time [before the exam] to memorize them, yet suddenly they were forced to use that time on this event."
"A lot of candidates thought that was extremely inappropriate."
He said the problem wouldn't exist if candidates had continued to sit their exams, which have a huge impact on their future academic progress, at schools they don't attend.
He said the more stringent rules had changed back as the Hong Kong authorities prepared to open up DSE test centers at schools in mainland China.
The furor comes amid growing international concern over tight controls on freedom of expression in Hong Kong, which was promised the continuation of its freedoms after the 1997 handover to Chinese rule.
A British government report on Hong Kong published on Monday found that "political opposition has been all but eliminated" in the city since China imposed the 2020 National Security Law there, adding: "Dissent has been criminalized. Civil society has been marginalized."
It said a second national security law known as Article 23 and passed on March 23, 2024 was "incompatible with international human rights law."
In a foreword to the report, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Hong Kong to "reinstate and preserve the high degree of autonomy it previously enjoyed, including the rights and freedoms of all who live and work there."
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“International Iterations news portal”。http://www.videocameralive.com/article-24b399626.html
Related articles
Climate change could virtually disappear in Florida — at least according to state law
travelTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida, perhaps the most vulnerable state to sea-level rise and extreme we ...
【travel】
Read moreInvestigator says Trump, allies were part of Michigan election scheme despite not being charged
travelDETROIT (AP) — A state investigator testified Wednesday that he considers former President Donald Tr ...
【travel】
Read moreJogger is left terrified after hair
travelA New York jogger was given the scare of a lifetime while out for his morning run in Central Park.Br ...
【travel】
Read more
Popular articles
- US, Mexico drop bid to host 2027 World Cup
- Edmunds: What you need to know about wrapping your car
- Verhaeghe scores OT winner, Bobrovsky makes some fantastic saves, and Panthers top Lightning 3
- The body types that raise the risk of colon cancer
- Abuse allegations against former Olympic rower, coach found to be credible, US Rowing probe says
- Struggled with 'I am not a robot' captchas lately? It's not just you... they're getting harder
Latest articles
Minor league infielder Keiner Delgado traded from Yankees to Pittsburgh Pirates
More than 1 in 4 US adults over age 50 say they expect to never retire, an AARP study finds
New Jersey Democrat Rep. Donald Payne Jr. dies at 65 after heart attack
Queen Letizia of Spain shines in a smart tweed dress as she joins King Felipe in Madrid
The ship that brought down a Baltimore bridge to be removed from collapse site in the coming weeks
Is Roblox safe for kids? Father
LINKS
- Aide of German EU lawmaker arrested on suspicion of spying for China
- Bo Bichette has 3
- Lady Amelia Windsor wows in lace slip dress as she attends Earth Day dinner in London
- Stock market today: Asian stocks track Wall Street gains ahead of earnings reports
- Travis d'Arnaud homers again and Bryce Elder shuts down Marlins in Braves' 3
- World Championship should move from 'SMELLY' Crucible, insists snooker star
- Legendary rugby league star Wally Lewis appeals for concussion and CTE awareness support
- Man charged with hate crime for vandalizing Islamic center at Rutgers, prosecutors say
- New Godzilla x Kong film tops Chinese box office
- Aho, Martinook cap Hurricanes' late rally to beat the Islanders for a 2