Vow to go after teachers joining boycotts

Action will be taken against teachers taking part in class boycotts, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung warns.

In a letter written to primary and secondary school principals yesterday, Yeung said teachers cannot take paid or no-pay casual leave for class boycotts, adding joining one is unprofessional.

He was referring to plans by unions and student groups to hold a referendum on Sunday over whether to strike and boycott classes to protest against the national security law Beijing is imposing on Hong Kong.

"If teachers participate in class boycotts proposed by those groups, not only would they deliberately not perform their duties and be negligent in their work, they would also bring politics to the campus and they would demonstrate to students that expressing political demands by breaking the rules is right," Yeung said.

"Schools should take disciplinary action, while the Education Bureau will follow up stringently," he added.

Yeung said schools should not allow students to boycott classes as well.

If there are student organizations egging youths to participate in illegal activities, class boycotts or other political events in the school, then schools should tell them to stop, Yeung said. "Schools should handle the matter through its disciplinary and punishment mechanism if students proceed with the action."

Isaac Cheng Ka-long, spokesman of the Hong Kong Secondary School Students Action Platform, said on Facebook that the government thought it can stop students expressing their views on the national security law by threatening schools, teachers and students.

He urged them to join the referendum while thanking the government for helping them "promote" the activity.

Meanwhile, police arrested 53 people, including Yuen Long district councillors Lam Chun and Ng Kin-wai, in Tuesday night's rally in Central to mark the first anniversary of the anti-fugitive movement. The 36 males and 17 females were arrested for offenses like participating in unlawful assemblies.

Police warned people against participating in another planned assembly tomorrow. It was dubbed online as a "religious gathering" marking the first anniversary of when people surrounded the Legislative Council to stop the second reading of the fugitive bill.

Police said assemblies of religious nature would not be exempted from social gathering rules unless they take place in locations where ceremonies are usually conducted, such as churches.

Adequate force will be deployed in the area today while officers will take resolute action of enforcement, the said.

The protest call came as the government told lawmakers that it has cost the government HK$66 million so far to restore public facilities damaged in the year-long unrest.

From June last year to last month, a total of 740 sets of traffic lights and at least 177 security cameras installed in government facilities and public places were vandalized, the government said.

Some 60 kilometers of railings and 22,000 square meters of paving blocks of footpaths were removed, while about 1,320 litter bins and 130 recyclables collection bins were also damaged.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com