Angry Xavier students lash at vice principal

Stacy Shi

Many angry students at St Francis Xavier's School are demanding the resignation of their vice principal after she suspended 14 students who failed to attend a flag-raising ceremony and "disrespected the national anthem."

The Standard learned last night that a meeting was held on Tuesday between the teachers and vice principal Law Chui-lin.

The vice principal broke down in tears at the meeting and she did not turn up in school yesterday morning, though she was spotted by students in the library in the afternoon.

St Francis Xavier's in Tsuen Wan was embroiled in an incident when it suspended 14 secondary students for three days after accusing them of disrespecting the national anthem and failing to attend the flag-raising ceremony last week.

It is understood a special teachers meeting was held after classes on Tuesday, with no students allowed into the meeting. Dozens of teachers attended.

Many students are said to have been angered by the suspensions and wanted Law to step down. They also think Law will not apologize for the incident.

Police, meanwhile, expressed "strong concerns" over a sarcastic cartoon in local Chinese newspaper Ming Pao, saying it could mislead readers and form a wrong impression of the force .

The cartoon depicts a fully geared riot police at a school to help the principal who seems complaining about students speaking foul language and contradicting teachers. Some students are seen to have laser pens in their backpacks.

In a letter to the newspaper's executive chief editor, assistant commissioner of police (public relations) Joe Chan Tung said the cartoon could lead readers to associate it to what happened at St Francis Xavier's and that people might misunderstand the reason why the school called police.

Chan said the school called police last week as its sign plate was damaged. The case was classified as a criminal damage.

He said the cartoon may "tarnish the image of the force, damage the cooperation between police and the public and the effectiveness of crime fighting and cause pressure and even harm to principals, teachers and students."

He urged the newspaper to fulfill its professional responsibility when handling news about schools.

In response, Ming Pao cartoonist Zunzi - real name Wong Kei-kwan - said the cartoon was not against police.

It was an expression of how schools should teach students patience instead of high-handed methods, Zunzi added.

He said it was a "common" cartoon expressing his views on social affairs.

The Ming Pao editorial department said it would continue to professionally provide accurate and credible news content while supporting columnists.

Education veterans called on authorities to revise guidelines for students who fail to respect the national flag and anthem.

Tang Fei, Election Committee lawmaker and a secondary school principal, said according to the school's statement, it had followed the full procedures, including notifying parents and the Education Bureau. He said that eating during morning assembly is a violation of school rules even if there is no flag-raising ceremony, since there is a schedule and students should be aware of it.

Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, Election Committee lawmaker and chairman of the Legislative Council panel on education, said students not attending the flag-raising ceremony are violating the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance, but not the national security law.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com