The Office of the Chief Executive announced on Tuesday the appointments of 10 under secretaries for policy bureaus, including Christine Choi Yuk-lin as under secretary for education. Choi's appointment was widely expected despite fanatical opposition from the "pan-democrat" camp, motivated by sheer political bias and fear for patriotism. Some prominent opposition figures went so far as to warn CE Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor that it would be declaring war against the "pan-democrats" if she appoints Choi as under secretary for education. They practically accused her of further dividing society by appointing Choi before she made the announcement.

In response, Lam has said more than once recently she would appoint candidates for under secretary posts on their professional merits and willingness to execute government policies effectively as well as commitment to serving Hong Kong according to the Basic Law and other laws. Indeed Choi is well qualified for the job with many years of experience as an education official before assuming the position of secondary school principal for three years. More importantly, she shares Lam's vision and philosophy about education reform and development.

The opposition camp, meanwhile, fiercely opposes Choi's appointment purely because she was a vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, which is labeled "pro-Beijing" by the opposition camp, particularly the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union. The opponents fear Choi would reintroduce national education as a standard curriculum in primary and secondary schools, which they demonized in "white terror" fashion a few years ago and labeled patriotism a bad thing. And the prime reason behind their hatred for patriotism is the political bias they harbored against the political institution practiced on the mainland.

It is also such political bias that is at the heart of all efforts by the opposition camp to undermine the lawful administration of the SAR government. This is because they simply cannot reconcile with the fact that Hong Kong is now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which has been governed by the Communist Party of China for nearly 70 years. In a way they resent everything about the PRC because of this constitutional reality. They consequently refuse to accept any patriot as a top education official for Hong Kong. They firmly believe the best way to continue their anti-communist crusade is maintaining an army of political fanatics brainwashed since first day in school.

This political bias was also instrumental in helping the opposition block the SAR government's first attempt to introduce national education back in 2012. And the opposition is afraid Choi's appointment would pave the way for the government to try national education again in the near future. To indulge this fear they have been doing everything they can to divide Hong Kong society with political bias. Choi's appointment is just another excuse for them to keep dividing society.

(HK Edition 08/02/2017 page8)