Hong Kong orders schools to remove books violating national security law

Education in Hong Kong has become one of the latest victims of China’s national security law as the administration ordered schools to review and remove books violating the legislation. Hong Kong’s Education Bureau said in a statement that the school management and teachers should review teaching and learning materials in a timely manner, including books.

"In accordance with the four types of offences clearly stipulated in the law...If they find outdated content or content that may concern the four aforementioned offences, they should remove them," said the bureau.

The draconian law has already resulted in the mysterious disappearance of books, written by Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, from libraries across the city. Among the authors whose books seem to have disappeared from the shelves of libraries is Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most notable pro-democracy activists.

The Demosisto leader had said that Beijing clearly plans to target human rights bodies or activist groups by changing the wording of the offence in the new security law. He added that Beijing’s move is aimed at cutting off the ties of Hong Kong with the world and punish all those who urge Beijing to uphold the city’s freedoms to the international standards.

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'May lead to arbitrary interpretation'

UN Human Rights office said on July 3 that the definition of some of the offences contained in the law may lead to discriminatory or arbitrary interpretation and enforcement of the law. While the UN Human Rights Office are still in the process of analysing the contents, journalists and media outlets are in a dilemma over the use of now-banned pro-democracy slogans in their reports.

Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club has written an open letter to the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam after her office failed to address specific concerns raised in a previous letter. The letter urgently sought clarification of the potential impact of the national security law on the city’s media including foreign correspondents and the broader implications for press freedom. 

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