Peaceful, rational and law-abiding path
Safe, harmonious and caring campus
24 November 2019
|
Last week, violent clashes were seen in various parts of Hong Kong, with rioters vandalising facilities, hurling petrol bombs, committing arson, obstructing trunk roads and damaging public transportation facilities. Fire engines and ambulances were stalled on their way to carry out fire-fighting and emergency rescue duties.
In view of the situation and safety concerns, the Education Bureau announced class suspension last week for secondary and primary schools (for two days) as well as kindergartens (for the whole week). Universities also announced the cancellation of normal classes of this semester. Over a million students were deprived of their basic and fundamental right to learn.
It was heartbreaking for me to see universities being occupied and damaged by face-covering rioters and campuses being used to make gas bombs and other weapons. The places for the pursuit of knowledge have been turned into “breeding grounds for violence” and “weapon factories”. The scenes of devastation and ruin were shocking.
The campuses which suffered severe vandalism will need time to assess the damage and carry out restoration works. Campus facilities are of course important but, more importantly, as places for nurturing talent, universities should never become arenas for political wrangling or be dragged into the vortex of violence.
With regard to the incident that happened in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the Government has strived to exercise flexibility and adopt a peaceful, persuasive, patient and persevering approach. I am indeed grateful to those committed community leaders and members of the education and religious sectors who went there to persuade the people inside to leave the campus. The incident can be properly resolved if those who remain there simply follow police directions to come out in an orderly and peaceful manner.
As a regional education hub, Hong Kong has high-quality universities. According to the 2020 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, five of our universities rank among the top 100 and three of them are among the top 50. The Government has been investing heavily in education. As announced in the 2019-20 Budget, the estimated recurrent expenditure on education, amounting to HK$90.6 billion, accounts for 20.5% of the total recurrent government expenditure, meaning that education tops the list of policy areas.
Being the most valuable resource in the territory, talent should be nurtured to ensure a better future for Hong Kong. If violence persists and politics are placed above education, irreparable harm will be done to students of this generation. With talent dwindling away, teaching activities and scientific research being hampered and the reputation of local universities being tarnished on the international front, Hong Kong will suffer from dampened economic development and undermined competitiveness.
As a pluralistic society that upholds the rule of law, Hong Kong has been widely recognised as one of the safest cities in the world. Although the different views held by different people should be duly respected, I must stress that such views should be expressed in a peaceful and rational way. Violence is not a solution to any problem. On the contrary, it will only breed more problems. I strongly call on all sectors of society to sever ties with violence, so that universities may restore peace in campuses and get things back in order as soon as possible.
Last week, I met with over 20 principals of secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens to listen to their views on the current situation. I would like to extend my gratitude to schools for their efforts over the past months in ensuring that their students could learn as usual in a safe environment. The Government will do its utmost to provide the required assistance and support to individual schools during this critical time.
Schools are not only a place for the transfer of knowledge, but also where students are helped to develop positive values and learn to distinguish right from wrong. Schools and parents should always remind students not to engage in violent or illegal activities, and make them understand the serious consequences entailed. Besides, should there be emotionally disturbed students, schools should refer such cases to school social workers, school-based educational psychologists or other professionals as soon as possible so that the students can be given suitable support at an early stage.
Young people, on whom the future of Hong Kong depends, are our hope and none of them is dispensable. While education is the key to nurturing talent, all sectors of society should care more about our young people during this difficult time and, by providing timely guidance and support, help them become good citizens with social commitment and positive thinking. Together with the school sector and through home-school co-operation, the Government hopes to lead youngsters back on course to act in a peaceful, rational and law-abiding manner, so that they can grow and learn in a safe and caring environment.
Today (24 November) is the voting day of the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election. I sincerely hope for a smooth election in which voters can exercise, in the spirit of democracy, their civil right to vote in a safe and peaceful environment under no duress.
