As the new cohort of Chinese University of Hong Kong graduates were eagerly preparing for their winter graduation ceremonies, some students had other ideas about how to see out the end of their academic year.
In Nov 4, some of these disenchanted students covered the wall of CUHK’s Benjamin Franklin Center with the slogan “Give autonomy back to students”.
By noon on the same day, a handful of students gathered to raise a banner reading “Mourn the Chinese University” at the University Mall and were distributing white ribbons and protest propaganda to students and passersby.
Despite the efforts of about a dozen security guards to contain the situation, the damage had already been done, as one graduate in full view of the audience displayed a white ribbon on her robe and held an inflammatory leaflet in her hand as photos were taken at the New Asia College.
Although the day did not end in violence, it has certainly raised a few eyebrows in the public about CUHK.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the discontent that has been brewing on campus, these protests were about the disbandment of the CUHK student union last month.
The university authorities had requested the student union register itself with government departments as an independent body and, consequently, legally responsible for its own actions. This move was to make sure that the university would not be held responsible for any illegal actions of the student union.
The student representatives did not agree with the move, so they made the decision to collectively resign and dissolve the union.
Sadly, the tensions have spilled over onto the campus.
Students who were to be lauded for their hard work had their day marred and politicized by protesters. More regrettably, all CUHK graduates, instead of being recognized for their efforts, have been tarnished with the irresponsible actions of some students. Their absence was not a result of injustice, but of their detainment due to their unlawful activities.
“We are graduating today, but these students cannot” were just some of the slogans displayed at what was supposed to be a dignified ceremony.
The views of the protesters apart, what about the rights of the students who stuck to and completed their studies in the midst of riots and protests — both violent and nonviolent — political upset, the pandemic, and other disruptions? Their achievements ought not to be overshadowed by those who took the illegal and violent path and are now behind bars.
We should celebrate the youngsters who have persevered and remained law-abiding, and not those who have broken the law.
Anyone who breaks the law must be prepared to endure the consequences, and that includes the punishments under our legal system. There should be no exceptions.
These protests, however sporadic, are symptomatic of a much larger problem: our education system.
In past columns, I have talked about the three stages of education for different life stages: babies under family education, children in school education, and adults receiving societal education. I addressed the obvious shortcomings at all three education stages, which have all been exposed by the anti-government protests that started in 2019.
During the height of the protests, we saw parents picketing with their children, some of whom were just 3 years old.
Now ask yourself, is it appropriate to have parents shape — or dare I say, manipulate — a child’s views at that young age? Not to mention the obvious issues of safety, as it was not uncommon for protests to escalate to violent levels.
And while we assume that school is a place where children can learn about the world and shape their views as law-abiding residents, they are instead being brainwashed by biased teachers whose teachings are one-sided. Some teachers have been teaching their students to break the laws as they please and be unpatriotic or even anti-China.
Wong Chiu-tat, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Visual Arts, published a satirical comic strip slandering the Junior Police Call. The illustration accused the JPC of spreading “fake news” to Hong Kong youths.
Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, another Hong Kong Baptist University teacher, an assistant professor at the Department of Government and International Studies, openly brags about undermining China and, indirectly, challenges the National Security Law for Hong Kong. He said publicly on several occasions that often he challenged his students in the university classrooms by asking them the following question: “When the Chinese flag can no longer be hoisted, will you be ready?”
In the face of these open challenges, Hong Kong Baptist University has not been seen to have taken action.
We know these two teachers have been spreading their blatantly wrong ideas to our youth, so what of the others who do similar things stealthily?
They say teachers are “the engineers of the human soul”, so how are these teachers engineering our children’s souls?
It’s not just the teachers who need to answer to the parents; the entire school body also needs to be held accountable for allowing these incendiary ideas to fester and spread. The school management — the heads of department, principal and school board, to name a few — are the gatekeepers; it is clear that some of these people have not been exercising their duty of care.
The checks and balances are put in place for a reason. These supervisors and gatekeepers are there to step in and act accordingly if any wrongdoing is committed at their institution. If there is sufficient evidence, then these gatekeepers have a duty to investigate, reprimand, and correct wrongful behavior. In some cases, these gatekeepers are required to dismiss wrongdoers to protect students.
But even with public evidence, such as in the case of Hong Kong Baptist University, these gatekeepers have let the entire student population down.
Things are not as calm as they seemingly are on the surface, and there is still a great deal of discontent quietly brewing. We have to remain vigilant, and that include the special administrative region government, the university and school managements, and above all, parents.
The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a think tank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.