National security law: Hong Kong schools told to remove books that might fall foul of the legislation
- Education Bureau orders schools to assess their books and immediately remove those that ‘possibly violate’ the law
- Principals appeal for clearer guidance on review process as critics issue warnings about infringements on academic freedom
Following the withdrawal of several publications from public libraries last week, the Education Bureau said on Monday that schools should get rid of reading materials which “possibly violate” the new legislation, while insisting that pupils should be taught the positive values of safeguarding national security.
Principals have called on the bureau to seek legal advice and then issue clearer guidelines on schools’ new responsibilities, while critics raised concerns over the impact on academic freedom if university libraries were also targeted.
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At least nine titles by localist Horace Chin Wan-kan, youth activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and lawmaker Tanya Chan were removed from the shelves of community libraries last week, pending a review of whether they infringed the new law.
The Post has found a number of those titles, in book and online formats, still available in some academic libraries, including at the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University and the University of Science and Technology.
The Education Bureau said schools should review their book collections in line with the four categories of offences under the new law, but would not be required to submit their catalogues to officials for further vetting.
“If any teaching materials including books have content which is outdated or involve the four crimes under the law, unless they are being used to positively teach pupils about their national security awareness or sense of safeguarding national security … they should otherwise be removed from the school,” a bureau spokesman said.
“Schools have a gatekeeping role in terms of choosing suitable teaching resources. The bureau would take serious follow-up actions if any problems arise over the issue,” he added.
Teddy Tang Chun-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools, did not rule out that some of the nine titles under review at public libraries might also be available at some secondary schools’ libraries.
Warning that many school staff might not have the necessary knowledge and professional training to make the right decision when reviewing their books, he urged the bureau to provide more details to support the process.
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“The Education Bureau should give schools more detailed guidelines after seeking advice from relevant policy bureaus and experts in different areas,” Tang said.
Primary school principal Wong Kam-leung, who is also chairman of the pro-establishment Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, agreed that schools should have clearer instructions on dealing with sensitive books given the grey areas involved.
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He believes that books relating to independence or civil disobedience would be problematic, adding: “[Teachers] should pay attention to whether some books would incite students to break the law, or promote violence and hatred.”
Education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, of the Professional Teachers’ Union, urged schools not to “self-censor” and raised concerns over whether university libraries would be similarly affected.
“It will be best if the restrictions are kept to a minimum [after the new law came into effect]. Many parts of the national security law are still unclear, so one would wonder if it is open to [the government’s] interpretation,” he said.
Bruce Lui Ping-kuen, a senior lecturer at Baptist University, believed universities might review their library collections and limit the checking out of certain books.
“In that case, books written by political leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi [involving organising civil disobedience acts] may also be banned,” Lui said.
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He also flagged as worrying whether certain syllabus or research topics at universities would be restricted under the new legislation.
The Post has contacted all eight publicly funded universities to comment on whether they would be reviewing their library collections.
