US Condemns Hong Kong’s Alleged Repression of Schools Celebrating US Independence Day
Udumbara
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The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong condemned the Hong Kong government after Hong Kong schools were allegedly warned against attending U.S. Independence Day celebrations.
“We condemn the Hong Kong government’s repression of U.S. Independence Day celebrations and interference in U.S. consulate-hosted events. Its attempts to characterize these activities as ‘unlawful’ only further reveal its insecurity and fear of freedom,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Consulate said.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau will host a private reception in Hong Kong to celebrate July 4 and to deepen the “longstanding friendship between the people in Hong Kong and the United States”, the statement said.
The remarks followed social media posts from Edu Lancet, a Facebook page run by Hans Yeung, a former manager at the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Edu Lancet cited information from anonymous whistleblowers from multiple schools.
Edu Lancet published a screenshot of what appears to be a message in a group chat. In the message, teachers of a school were reminded to stay away from the event to “avoid violating the National Security Law and Hong Kong laws.”
It goes on to say, “If you learn that any students are participating, please put their protection first and discourage them from participating.”
“As I had reminded the teachers in previous staff meetings, teachers should seek prior approval from the Principal if they are invited by any embassy or any organization funded by any embassy to join any activity by themselves or involving students. It is very important for us to safeguard national security,” the English message said.
“The principal said we must not break the rule. Because once we broke the rule, the regional education office would have to spend a long time explaining, and we wouldn’t be able to carry out regular work. To avoid disturbing the school, we have to follow the guidelines,” the message said.
Hong Kong’s Education Bureau did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, which was sent outside of office hours.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, a spokesperson from the bureau did not confirm or deny the alleged reminders, and said schools were given detailed guidelines on setting up measures to carry out tasks related to safeguarding national security and national security education.
