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#Court #Regime
"No Such Thing as Separation of Powers in the World," National Security Judge Lectures Educators, Despite Claiming It's HK's System 10 Years Ago

As the Hong Kong Government begins to enforce #NationalSecurityEducation in schools, the #EducationBureau held an online seminar on the rule of law, led by Judge Patrick Chan Siu-oi, in which high school teachers received the government's latest views on the rule of law.

Patrick Chan is a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal, and is part of the panel of judges handling the bail application of Next Digital's #JimmyLai, who is currently under custody on national security charges.

Chan began the seminar by telling the attending teachers that what he was about to say may be different from their past knowledge, and "if it's not the same, then please hear me out."

According to Chan, the term "separation of powers" was inaccurate, nor was the mention of "three" powers in the usual Chinese translation of the term. He claimed that many political systems do not have three branches, and calling it a separation of three powers "sounded like they're bracing themselves for a brawl". Instead, he called it a "distribution of duties", saying it was more accurate and "sounded more gentle". If checks and balances were too stringent, he added, it would make for an inefficient government.

Chan further claimed that no country in the world operates a true separation of powers. He cited the US government as an example, saying that the Senate, House of Representatives, and court judges consist of members from the two major political parties, thus the three branches overlap each other. In the British government, he said, the prime minister is the leader of the largest party in Parliament, therefore the legislative branch is also the executive branch.

Interestingly, in a 2011 seminar - merely 10 years ago - Judge Chan claimed that Hong Kong implements a separation of powers. At the time, he stated that the separation of powers prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful, leading to abuses of its power. He also noted that the Basic Law's clauses 59-65, 66-79, and 80-96 prescribe separate duties to the three branches of government. The key was whether the branches could keep each others' powers in check, he noted at the time.

source: Apple Daily #Feb4
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20210204/EEP2GE3ZN5BBFPLL3N2BBZIGTQ/

#SeparationofPowers #Education #BrainWash
#PoliceState #Censorship
HK Government Cut Ties with Professional Teachers' Union After China Calls it "Cancer"

On the morning of July 31, 2021, China's state media People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency published opinion pieces against the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (#HKPTU), calling it "a cancer that must be removed".

By the afternoon, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong government announced it
that it is terminating its working relationship with the local teachers' Union.

The union responded to the opinion pieces by saying it has always promoted professional growth of teachers and advocating for their rights, giving attention to the development of the country and its people, as well as being "against Hong Kong independence".

The Education Bureau sent out a sternly-worded press release a mere half hour later, outlining its policy towards the Union:

-No further collaboration with the Union;

-No more meetings with the Union

-No consulting with the Union regarding education matters

-No processing of referred cases or topics of concern raised by the Union

The Bureau said that it would fully review its consultation groups, and would consider terminating the terms of any HKPTU members that hold committee positions or have other duties, and not recognize their status as committee members.

Furthermore, the government would be refused entry into the Bureau's office building or the Bureau's meetings.

Also, the Education Bureau will no longer recognize professional development courses hosted by HKPTU, and schools are not to count the Union's courses toward their teachers' professional development requirements of 150 hours in 3 years.

The Bureau further criticizes the union for its pro-democracy stance and activities in recent years, claiming that they are not in line with the professionalism of educators, even claiming that the Union is effectively no different from a "political group".

The government's spokesperson also criticized the Union for being actively involved in the matters with the Civil Human Rights Front and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, as well as for "bringing politics into schools" by organizing teachers' strikes.

[Editor's Note: Founded in 1973, the HKPTU is Hong Kong's largest teacher's union with over 90,000 members. The other major union is the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, which claims over 40,000 members, though some member categories are not required to be in the education sector.

The Federation's vice-chairperson, Nicolas Muk, recently made the news for criticizing Olympic badminton player Angus Ng Ka-long for wearing a black jersey. The ensuing controversy led to Ng switching to a different jersey in the next match, which he lost, drawing further public anger against Muk.]

#WhiteTerror #Education #EducationBureau #CCPRules #FailedState

Source: In-Media HK #Jul31

https://bit.ly/2WHR6yj
#Education #WhiteTerror
[Union Disbanded] #EducationBureau Chief Calls Hong Kong Teachers to "Reconsider" If the Pro-democracy Union Represents Themselves

[Latest Update: The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (#HKPTU) announced its disbandment at around 16:30 on August 10, 2021, following attacks from Beijing and Hong Kong government]

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30763
#Education #WhiteTerror
[Union Disbanded]
#EducationBureau Chief Calls Hong Kong Teachers to "Reconsider" If the Pro-democracy Union Represents Themselves

[Latest Update: The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (
#HKPTU) announced its disbandment at around 16:30 on August 10, 2021, following attacks from Beijing and Hong Kong government]

Kevin Yeung, the Hong Kong SAR Government's Secretary of Education, sent a letter to all Hong Kong teachers, calling on "careful consideration" of speech and actions of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (#HKPTU) in recent years, and pondering over whether the union can "represent" themselves.

He also claimed that all information, services, and enquiries "could be provided" by other organisations.

The HKPTU currently consists of 95,000 members, and the membership needs to be renewed every year. Each membership is valid from September 1 to August 31.

The letter from Yeung was titled "Adhering the Profession and Pursuing the Truth Together". The whole letter targets the HKPTU. He said that education had been "robbed" for years, some organisations "performed politics in the name of the educational profession", and that they "did not stop the violation of the teaching profession and the disregard for the well-being of students". He claimed that the HKPTU "directly or indirectly pushes teachers into illegal activities, being arrested and imprisoned".

#KevinYeung #Defamation #Censorship #PoliceState

Source: InmediaHK #Aug05 ; Now News #Aug10
https://bit.ly/37m22Ud

====

Read more:

HK Government Cut Ties with Professional Teachers' Union After China Calls it "Cancer"

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30674
#WhiteTerror #PoliticalSuppression
The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union Disbands After Attacks by Beijing and Hong Kong Authorities

Following Beijing's attack on Hong Kong's largest teachers' union, the Hong Kong government has immediately cut ties with the association, which has been providing support and training for teachers in Hong Kong for almost half a century.

Many considered that the Union's support for democratic values has turned the group intk a target of pro-Establishment and pro-Beijing voices.

It started with July 31, 2021, China's state media People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency published opinion pieces against the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (#HKPTU), calling it "a cancer that must be removed".

By the afternoon, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong government announced it
that it is terminating its working relationship with the local teachers' Union.

Read more
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30674

In the following days, Hong Kong's chief executive #CarrieLam and #EducationBureau chief #KevinYeung continued to accuse the union and dissuade teachers from being affiliated with it.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30763

On August 10, 2021, at around 16:30, the 48-year-old union, the largest one for teachers in Hong Kong, announced its disbandment.

Source: Stand News #Aug10
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=894361151160357

#PoliceState #Censorship #Education #Regime
After the critism from pro-Beijing media, the Hong Kong Education Bureau immediately stops working with the Hong Kong Professional Teachers's Union.

#HKPTU #EducationBureau #XinhuaNewsAgency #PeoplesDaily #GoHKgraphics
#FailedState #Suppression #HKProtest
Another Civil group disbands over 'suppression' in Hong Kong in one week

Just five days after the disbandment of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (#HKPTU), another well-respected pro-democracy community group, the Civil Human Rights Front (#CHRF) also announced that it is disbanding today (August 15), both citing immense pressure amid radical social and political changes causing the group no longer to operate.

“Unfortunately, for the past year or so, the government repeatedly used the pandemic as a pretext to reject the Front and other organisations’ applications to hold rallies.” “Our member groups were suppressed, and civil society is facing unprecedented challenges,” the #CHRF statement read.

"The Front had wanted to maintain its operations and brace the difficulties with everyone else. But our convenor Figo Chan is already incarcerated over numerous cases. The secretariat can no longer operate, and since no one had indicated they will take over, [the Front] has no choice but to disband," the statement said.

Representatives of its member groups attended a meeting on August 13 and had unanimously decided to dissolve with immediate effect. A remaining fund of HK$1.6 million assets will be donated to suitable organisations.

“We thank the Hong Kong people for walking side by side with the Front in the past 19 years.” The statement continued that HongKongers’ participation in the mass protests organised by the Front had “allowed the world to see Hong Kong, allowed light to shine through darkness, and had sewn the seed of democracy and freedom in people’s heart.”

Responding to the group’s disbandment, the Hong Kong Police continued to challenge the group’s operation has been “illegal”, reiterated that the group and its members remain criminally liable for the offence committed, regardless of the disbandment or the resignation of its members.

On Aug 13, Police chief Raymond Siu warned during an interview with CCP mouthpiece Ta Kung Pao that police had gathered all evidence necessary “to take action against the illegal organisation anytime.”

Siu's warning came even though the group had not organised any protests since the national security law came into force last July.

Source: inmediahk.net, RTHK; #Aug15
https://bit.ly/3m55b3e

Related Articles

The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union Disbands After Attacks by Beijing and Hong Kong Authorities
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30766

[Union Disbanded] #EducationBureau Chief Calls Hong Kong Teachers to "Reconsider" If the Pro-democracy Union Represents Themselves
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30762
The Educational Bureau issued a letter to schools with an event planning calendar relating to national security education.

#EducationBureau #NationalSecurity #GoHKgraphics
#Sinicization
Hong Kong Government Requires All Schools to Hold Weekly Flag-Raising Ceremonies and Sing Chinese Anthem

The Hong Kong government's #EducationBureau on October 11, 2021 announced that all schools in Hong Kong must hold flag-raising ceremonies every week and on special occasions starting January 1, 2022.

The government's guidelines stated that the Chinese national anthem should be played and sung at the ceremonies.

Moreover, the Chinese national flag should be raised in school every day. If there are enough flagpoles, then the Hong Kong SAR flag should also be raised.

The government also "advised" kindergartens to carry out the instructions if facility allows, while international schools and private schools were "encouraged" to follow the guidelines.

Source: InMedia #Oct11
https://bit.ly/3Auwhob

#ChineseAnthem #ChineseFlag #FlagRaising #1C1S #Education #School #Nationalization #Brainwashing
The Education Bureau announces a new guidelines regarding to national education for schools, starting from 2022 onwards.

#EducationBureau #NationalEducation #GoHKgraphics
Hong Kong's “National Education Calendar” suggests discussing #ChineseCommunistParty development and watching three "patriotic anti-Japanese" films a year

In a letter to all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (#EDB) "strongly recommended" schools to "fully and systematically" implement learning activities for #NationalSecurityEducation.

The bureau attached a calendar of "important dates" on the national education curriculum, as well as suggested learning activities for each. These recommendations include watching patriotic or anti-Japanese war movies on three memorial dates related to the anti-Japanese war; holding memorial ceremonies on "mourning day for Nanjing Massacre Victims"; celebrating the "102nd Anniversary of the founding of the #CCP" with discussions on the Party's development, etc.

The EDB had also made it mandatory for all primary and secondary schools to fly the Chinese flag on all school days, as well as to hold a weekly flag-raising ceremony, complete with singing the Chinese national anthem. Secretary of Education Christine Choi says that, as the youth is the future pillars of society, schools must instill in students the concept of the nation, as well as national identity and pride, in order to develop them into a new generation of "knowledgeable, responsible youths who love the country and love Hong Kong".

[Editor's notes: Many China-produced television dramas and films about fighting the Japanese during World War 2 are characterized by their nationalistic nature. They are also known for "over-the-top violence and implausible plot events." For more information, check out this report by Hong Kong Free Press:

Patriotic comedies? Japanese author compiles an encyclopaedia of Chinese anti-Japan dramas
https://hongkongfp.com/2018/05/06/patriotic-comedies-japanese-author-compiles-encyclopaedia-chinese-anti-japan-dramas/ ]

Source: In-Media HK #Aug02
https://bit.ly/3zSgzGw

#Education #EducationBureau #NationalSecurityLaw #AntiJapan #Brainwashing #Nationalism
#HongKong Government publishes "correct" view of Hong Kong #History, claims 1997 was not a "#handover"

In the name of reforming the secondary school curriculum, the Hong Kong government had replaced Liberal Studies with “Civic and Social Development”. The textbook content has also been changed to explicitly state that Hong Kong was never a British colony.

In an article uploaded to its website on August 2, 2022, the Education Bureau (#EDB) explained the government's official version of history, saying that the ceremony on 1st July 1997 was not a “handover of Hong Kong” but a “transfer of sovereignty”. The education bureau argues that denying Hong Kong being a former British colony doesn’t mean it rejects Hong Kong’s history of being occupied by Britain, but stresses that the word “colony” was inappropriate.

The 1,500-word article is available in Chinese only.

Source: In-Media #Aug02
https://bit.ly/3OMSxRr

#Education #CCP #EducationBureau #BritishColony #NationalSecurityEducation #RewritingHistory
"Politically corrected" textbooks in the New Hong Kong Era

6 publishing companies amended their #LiberalStudies textbooks after "inquiring" the #EducationBureau for comments in August 2020. Journalists discovered that some contents are removed, including #June4th, #CulturalRevolution, #MongKokCivilUnrest, #LocalConsciousness and #HongKongIndependenceClaims.

In November 2020, then-Secretary of Education, Kevin Yeung, announced to reform the Senior Secondary Liberal Studies (LS) syllabus. Course content was re-organised, and some were removed in order to grow students’ national identity with a mainland visit opportunity.

Less than a year later, the new subject “Citizenship and Social Development” replaced LS in school curricula. However, its textbooks were only approved in June 2022. Journalists discovered that the new books did not only modify a few photos or comics, but completely overthrew statements made in past textbooks. Notable changes include stating that Hong Kong was “not a #colony”, and the #AntiELAB movement was “an illegal incident that is violent and endangers national security”.

In the new era of Hong Kong, are the textbooks becoming "politically correct"? InMedia found #LiberalStudies textbooks published between 2014 and 2020, and compared them to the new #CitizenshipandSocialDevelopment textbooks.

Under the new syllabus, concepts including "#CivilDisobedience", "Separation of Powers", "4 levels of the Rule of Law" and "Multiple identities" are removed. Topics that took their place are #NationalSecurity, #NationalIdentity, and #NationalAchievement. The topic of Rule of Law no longer covered #RestrictionofLaw, #HumanRightProtection without affecting others’ rights, social order and national security.

Additional materials are taken mainly from official government sources, such as Information Service Department and blogs of government officials. Students are no longer required to discuss topics with controversial views. They only need to answer questions such as “Why does the National People's Congress interpreting the law not affect judiciary independence?”

Source: InMedia #Sep04

https://bit.ly/3wUtMww

See also:
Hong Kong Schools Schedule National Security Education Activities, Mainland Exchange Tours
https://t.me/BeWaterHK/1006

#NationalSecurityLaw #NationalEducation #RewritingHistory