Hong Kong's leader Leung Chun-ying met some students at a closed-door gathering Thursday and questioned the class boycott move. Photo: AFP, tvb.com
Leung Chun-ying sees class boycott as political mobilization
Hong Kong’s leader Leung Chun-ying questioned the class boycott move by students, describing the action as a form of “political mobilization”, Apple Daily reported Friday.
The chief executive said there were two issues with the classroom boycott. First, as some people seem to think that it is okay that secondary school students can boycott classes, does that mean primary school students can also do the same, he asked.
Secondly, he questioned the reason for the boycott. The argument that the Chinese parliament’s recent decision on the Hong Kong chief executive election system has taken away the city’s high degree of autonomy does not hold ground, he said.
The comments came as Leung met nearly 4,000 secondary school students in a closed-door gathering hosted by the Centum Charitas Foundation, Thursday night.
Leung also cited a public opinion survey commissioned by the government which showed that if universal suffrage is implemented in 2017 for the election of chief executive, nearly 70 percent of the people would participate in the vote.
Leung said citizens should be able to exercise this civil right and that they should not be stopped from doing so.
Lester Shum from the Hong Kong Federation of Students accused Leung of cowardice. He pointed out that the chief executive hasn’t openly faced the protesting students, but merely chosen to respond through press releases.
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Related:
Secondary school students to join class boycott Friday
Student protesters demand Leung meeting
http://www.ejinsight.com/20140926-leung-chun-ying-sees-class-boycott-as-political-mobilization/
