HK educators call for politics-free campus as more students arrested

As the number of arrested students rises, Hong Kong's educators on Friday called on politicians and radicals to stop politicizing campuses and inciting students to join violent protests.

They also said they hope the government can better inform the city's youth of the legal consequences of their violent acts.

The remarks came after the Hong Kong Police Force on the same day revealed that student arrestees have accounted for about 30 percent of all 1,596 arrests related to the anti-government protests since June 9, while the past month has seen a surge in the number of students arrested.

Since Sept 1, when classes began, 207 of the 550 total arrests, or 38 percent, have been of students - a 13 percentage-point increase from the 25 percent, or 257 students out of a total 1,046 offenders, from June 9 through Aug 31, police said.

Wong Kwan-yu, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said that by enhancing publicity and political advertising on campuses, radical protesters and political parties are infiltrating secondary schools in Hong Kong, and inciting students to participate in political and even radical activities.

These activities include masterminding school boycotts and human chain rallies, and encouraging students to take to the streets, Wong said.

He said that these advertisements were usually packaged with slogans from a moral high ground — such as fighting for the city's future — but often turned violent once things were taken to the streets.

As violence keeps escalating and radicals have shown no sign of ending the chaos, Wong said he worries that the incitement may soon turn to kids at primary schools.

It's alarming that the current "black terror" in society is discouraging teachers from openly stopping students from participating in political activities, as the teachers worry that they will become the targets of revenge, Wong said.

Ho Hon-kuen, chairman of Education Convergence, said he hopes politicians and other political forces will stop glorifying violence and drawing students into political battles. What they are doing only adds to the risk of students being arrested for breaking the law, as politics in today's Hong Kong is not just about speaking one's opinions, but committing actual illegal acts, Ho said.

The Education Bureau, Home Affairs Bureau, and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, which are responsible for Hong Kong's youth development, should also hold a joint news conference to state clearly to all the students, teachers and schools in the city the legal consequences of violent acts, Ho said.

Ho, a former principal of Elegantia College, a local secondary school, also called on teachers to stop infusing their own political views into daily teaching.

"If they don't begin reflecting on themselves in the face of such large numbers (of students arrested), I think they could hardly absolve themselves from the blame," he said.

During Friday's police briefing, Kong Wing-cheung, senior superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, warned the city's youngsters of a maximum of life imprisonment for arson offenders. Radicals have set fires on the streets and at metro stations exits.

"This is not a role-playing magic game. Please calm down and think twice about your future before breaking the law," said Kong, adding that parents and teachers should keep a close eye on their kids.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Tseung Kwan O for possession of offensive weapons after the police found a laser pointer on him on Sept 21. A girl of the same age was arrested in Tuen Mun for burning the Chinese national flag the same day.

Shortly after the briefing, police issued an objection letter to a public procession scheduled for National Day, Oct 1, out of public safety concerns, considering that protests have created turmoil in recent cases.

Police said they made the decision after a risk assessment. They believe some protesters are highly likely to deviate from the designated route, causing damage along the way.