About 110 faculty members and 3,600 students have been arrested in Hong Kong for social incidents in the past year
Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, June 17-Yang Runxiong, director of the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, said on the 17th that from June last year to May this year, among the arrested persons involved in social incidents, there were about 110 faculty members and about 3600 students.
In response to questions from the Legislative Council Members of the Special Administrative Region in writing, Yang Runxiong said that of the approximately 110 staff members arrested, 10 were from post-secondary institutions, and the remaining approximately 100 were from primary and secondary schools. About 2,000 of the arrested students were from post-secondary institutions, and the remaining about 1,600 were under the age of 18. I believe most of them were middle school students and several elementary school students.
Yang Runxiong said that the Education Bureau has always attached great importance to the professional conduct of teachers. Teachers shoulder the important responsibility of inheriting knowledge and cultivating character, and they are also important role models for students. If teachers are involved in illegal activities, in addition to their legal responsibilities, the Education Bureau will follow up seriously and take action in accordance with the Education Regulations.
Yang Runxiong said that if the arrested registered teacher was subsequently prosecuted, regardless of whether he was convicted or not, the Education Bureau will follow a consistent mechanism, based on court documents and the information available, to examine whether the teacher is involved in ethical conduct and examine his teacher registration qualifications . If the arrested teacher is not prosecuted, but the Education Bureau receives complaints or information about the teacher’s professional conduct, it will also be handled according to the existing mechanism. Regarding the cases that have already been concluded, the Bureau is following up the above procedures, and there are no cases where registration has been cancelled.
Yang Runxiong said that students are the pillars of society in the future, and they are never expected to participate in illegal activities. Some insincere people and groups deliberately mislead students into participating in political activities with fierce tactics, using their interests and future as bargaining chips to achieve their political goals. The Education Bureau strongly condemned these people for misleading and hurting students.
He said that social events have brought unprecedented impacts and challenges to the academic community. The school, as a place for cultivating talents and virtue, should assist students to improve inappropriate behaviors and cooperate with parents to allow students to reflect on the impact of their behaviors on themselves and others and allow them to re-establish positive values.