HONG KONG-The Education Bureau said on Thursday it's regreattable that a biased, misleading and offensive question appeared in this year’s history test - which was part of the city’s college entrance exam.
The department said the test question has seriously hurt the feelings of the nation and its people.
The controversy centered on an exam question which asked students whether they agreed that Japan had brought more benefits than harm to China between 1900 to 1945 when the country was invaded by Japanese troops.
In a statement late on Thursday, a bureau spokesperson said he regretted such a misleading question appeared in a test for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.
“The test in question presented extremely one-sided content that could mislead examinees to arrive at biased conclusions,” the spokesperson said.
It greatly offended Chinese compatriots who suffered enormously during the Japanese invasion.
The bureau has asked the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, who prepared the tests, to investigate the matter. It should conduct a strict review of its tests to rectify these problems, and ensure the DSE tests are fair, just and credible.
The test question aroused much concern among people in Hong Kong. Lawmaker Wilson Or Chong-shing on Thursday criticized the HKEAA for such a biased test question. He said loopholes clearly existed in its management. He urged the authority to inquire how such a question could appear in exams.
He also expressed concern that a high-ranking HKEAA official had incited hatred against the police on his personal social media platform.
