The education news platform "Education Needle" recently revealed that some Hong Kong schools received a "friendly reminder" from the Education Bureau's regional offices that students participating in Fourth of July events hosted by the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong may violate the National Security Law. The incident escalated to the diplomatic level, with the Consulate General condemning the Hong Kong government's suppression of the Independence Day celebrations and accusing them of attempting to label the events "illegal." The Education Bureau issued a press release Tuesday evening in response, omitting any mention of the United States and failing to deny issuing the "reminder" to the schools.
The report of "Education Needle" stated that it had received several reports and that many schools had received friendly reminders from the Regional Education Office, reminding school teachers to be careful about the US Independence Day activities held by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau. Teachers and students "should not participate casually to avoid violating the National Security Law and Hong Kong laws." It also stated that "if it is known that any students are participating, please put the protection of students as the primary consideration and dissuade them from participating."
The report included screenshots of text messages received by the school, but did not specify whether it was a government, private, or international school. The Lancet quoted an interviewed teacher as saying the authorities' actions were putting the cart before the horse: "Don't talk nonsense, your actions are ridiculous. OK, I thought you were really involved in national security. If this truly violated national security, why didn't the central government order the US consulate to withdraw from Hong Kong? So, you're allowing organizations harmful to national security to run rampant in Hong Kong, and aren't you using the hundreds of millions of dollars in war chests for national security? Isn't your intimidation of schools a form of white terror?"
The principal of a secondary school in Sha Tin District also sent an email to all teachers, reminding them that if they receive an invitation from any foreign embassy or any organization funded by the embassy to participate in any activities, or if such activities involve student participation, they should obtain the principal's approval in advance. The email emphasized that "maintaining national security is very important.
