Govt Order On History Test A Corrective Step: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that her administration had interfered in the Diploma of Secondary Education history exam furore, but said a step had been taken to correct a "professional mistake".

Speaking to reporters ahead of her weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said that a call by the Education Bureau (EDB) for a controversial exam question to be struck down was not political interference.

She pointed out that she has not invoked her power under the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance to take action as CE, but said she "won’t evade this when it’s necessary for the protection of students".

The CE said it was not problematic for the EDB to demand the withdrawal of the question because the bureau's role is not just to provide resources for schools, but also to defend the quality of education.

“We have to ask who is the one who stirred up trouble, and who was the one who came up with an inappropriate question," she said.

Recalling a quote widely attributed to former South African President Nelson Mandela, Lam said that "the collapse of education is the collapse of the nation” adding that "destroying a nation doesn’t require atomic bombs or missiles, you only need to destroy and weaken the education system".

"If education is done wrongly, its damages and severe consequences are really beyond imagination. So I would appeal to all stakeholders in Hong Kong to help preserve the value of education in Hong Kong for the sake of our younger generation," she said.

Her comments come amid a row over a DSE history exam question which asked candidates whether Japan did more good than harm to China between 1900 and 1945.

The Education Bureau ordered the HKEAA to scrap the question saying it was biased and hurtful to the Chinese people.

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said by saying that she won't rule out intervening in the saga, the Chief Executive has pressured the exams authority into scrapping the controversial question.

"I don't think that Carrie Lam is making a fair comment. If she is going to solve the problem, I think she should follow the proper procedure and allow the Education Bureau to talk to, to communicate with the examination and assessment authority," Ip said.

The HKEAA said on Monday night that a council meeting to decide whether to pull the question had not reached a conclusion, and there is no word yet on when the council will meet again.