National education in Hong Kong: protests continue, Chief Executive won’t be at ASEAN
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The
protests against "national education" classes have forced the Chief
Executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying to cancel his participation in the ASEAN
summit - the first visit abroad since he took
office - a few hours before leaving for Vladivostok.
While
the mass demonstrations are now in their seventh consecutive day, the Territory
Government have yet to give answers to the people on the disputed education
reform.
Parents,
students and teachers have launched a strike against the new subject, which
should "uphold" the economic successes of mainland China without discussing issues such as the Tiananmen Square crackdown or the human rights situation
in the country. Launched
by the central government in 2002, the reform was immediately opposed by the
Catholic Church, according to Cardinal Zen, it is a "brainwashing" of
students.
According
to an official, Leung cancelled the trip to "focus on his domestic commitments."
In
the area of Admiralty, where there are government offices are located and
where there is an ongoing sit-in protest against the reform school, the news
was met with sarcasm. Lau,
a woman who joined the students on strike, says, "Leung should come out
and face the students, but he will not. If he wanted to listen to them, he
would have done so days ago." Of
Leung, a student, said: "cancelling the trip is just for show."
Ivan
Choy, a political analyst at the Chinese
University of Hong
Kong, has a different opinion: "Under normal circumstances, you can't avoid
this meeting. This will raise a lot of speculation. Does it mean there are
serious governance issues in Hong Kong?"
In the meantime, a group of demonstrators camped at Admiralty are still on hunger
strike. James
Hon Lin-shan, of the teachers union, is 63 years old and this morning marked 108
hours of total fast. His
analysis is wise and he cares little for Leung's cancelled trip: "Wherever Leung goes doesn't
matter to me. But he should respond to our demands." 9 other people are on hunger strike with him.
In
an attempt to break the siege, the Chief Executive has asked the protesters to
join the committee appointed by the government to draw up reform and propose
some changes: within two or three days, Leung is expected to announce some
steps in this direction. The
protesters, however, declined the invitation, as the Committee "serves only
Beijing's
interests."
In
any case, the population are united against the government not only over the
educational reform. House
prices have risen by 88% since 2009, due to record low interest rates on loans
from mainland China
and the consequent rush to purchase property on the former British colony. According
to Savills Pls, this year Hong Kong is the most expensive place in the world to
buy a house.
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