HK Students To Go Ahead With Climate Change Strike

Hong Kong organisers of a student strike over climate change said on Friday they have received police permission and were going ahead with their demonstration on March 15 despite objections from the Education Bureau.

The protest, inspired by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg's actions that spread across Europe, is to take place across several cities across the world. But the Education Bureau had told RTHK on Wednesday that they are opposed to class boycotts.

"Any form of boycott would disrupt order in schools, and interfere with the normal learning of students and operation of schools,” the bureau said.

In response, one of the student organisers, Elisa Hirn said: “The Education Bureau said schools are where students learn and grow, but we believe this can also be done outside of school.”

“We believe that students who are attending this will learn a lot about climate change and how to make our voices heard and grow as individuals outside of the classroom as well.”

The Environment Bureau also responded to enquiries from RTHK on Thursday, saying the government “attaches great importance to combating climate change” and has devised an action plan to cut carbon emissions in the city.

Another student organiser, Zara Campion, said that the plans are good but insufficient, when compared to how other cities are addressing the crisis.

“We think that Hong Kong as a globalised hub can do a lot more in improving what it is currently doing,” she said. “And we also think the people of Hong Kong can do a lot more in becoming more sustainable.”

In a slight change from earlier plans, one of the organisers, Emily Tarr, said the protesters would start from Chater Garden in Central at 11am and walk to the government headquarters at Tamar.

She said they are still discussing what they will do at Chater Garden and government headquarters, but there may be speeches and activities, and they also plan to hand in a letter to the government.