PTU: become another Lsd-like radical group or be moderate?
The Professional Teachers’ Union (PTU) has softened its stance somewhat on its plan to launch a city-wide strike of primary and secondary school teachers and students to protest the introduction of moral and national education (MNE) in all schools. The Democratic Party (DP) affiliate said it would be cautious about proceeding with the general strike, apparently because of strong public opposition and even condemnation of the extreme measure.
Other opposition parties, the radical ones in particular, have piled pressure on PTU to remain committed to the move. It is fair to say the PTU is now at the crossroads at which it must choose either to become another radical group like the League of Social Democrats (LSD) or the organization of professional teachers the public believes it should be.
What the PTU is experiencing today is reminiscent of the time back in 2010 when the late Szeto Wah, widely considered the “spiritual leader” of the opposition camp, led the DP and PTU to steer clear of joining the collective resignation by some opposition lawmakers intent on forcing a by-election. The LSD and the Civic Party (CP), which initiated the notorious maneuver, accused Szeto Wah and the DP and PTU of betraying democracy. Szeto Wah commented back then: “Some people are forcing us to jump off a building and calling us cowards if we refuse to do it...”
Today the PTU is under tremendous pressure from the LSD and CP to remain onboard the radical chariot, which is on track for selfdestruction similar to leaping off a rooftop. Does the PTU have a choice other than to become another radical group, specializing in mob politics just like the LSD?
The PTU was quite determined about the citywide boycott of schools when it first made the threat public in a bid to force the government to shelve the plan to introduce MNE. It was caught off guard, however by a wave of strong opposition from parents and teachers, who slammed the radical move as sacrificing the students’ interests for no good reason. Some parents who took part in a protest march against the MNE last month felt compelled to voice their concerns about the possibility their children could take the general walkout as an example that they could copy whenever they feel like it.
Many parents, especially those whose children attend elite schools, are deeply worried that the general walkout of schools will cost their kids precious hours needed for good grades in which they have made enormous investment. They also demanded that the PTU consult parents before deciding to go ahead with the “political game”, which they see as “sacrificing other people’s children for personal benefit”.
Representatives of parent-teacher associations in 17 districts met on August 1 and reached a consensus opposing a general strike, while several major school sponsors also declared their opposition to attempts to coerce the government.
Strong criticism and opposition from parents and teachers have shaken the PTU’s resolve to stick to the walkout plan. As its Vice-Chairman Wong Ha-lim admitted, the general strike’s social impact will be too serious to ignore and the union will wait for a satisfactory reply from the government before deciding whether to proceed with the strike or not.
History has the uncanny ability to repeat itself. The radical factions led by the LSD and CP attacked Szeto Wah and the DP and PTU verbally like mad in 2010, but Szeto Wah told the two relatively moderate opposition groups he founded not to join the collective resignation to force a by-election. The veteran democrat refused to give in under pressure and pointed out that the LSD and CP were in fact eyeing the DP’s voter base and trying to seize the moral high ground from the leading opposition party. He also encouraged DP Chairman Ho Chunyan to continue on a moderate track and communicate with the central government.
Szeto Wah’s insistence on a moderate approach and communication with Beijing led to the DP’s decision to support the SAR government’s constitutional reform plan that mapped the way for progressing toward full democracy in a steady and gradual fashion. The decision prevented the radical factions from stealing the DP’s voter base.
Today the PTU is in a situation very much like the one Szeto Wah and the DP found themselves in a few years ago. There is no doubt the LSD and CP are forcing it to “jump off a building” to its death right now and the party has two options: buckle under the radical groups’ wrath and become one of them or return to the moderate road chosen by its late founder. The PTU is advised to follow its late founder’s example and be the professional group committed to a moderate course it should be.