China passed a security law last week outlawing four national security crimes. (File)
Hong Kong:
The Hong Kong government ordered schools on Monday to review and remove any books that may violate a radical new security law that Beijing imposed on the troubled city last week.
“In accordance with the four types of offense clearly stipulated in the law, school management and teachers should review teaching and learning materials, including books, in a timely manner,” said the Office of the Minister. ‘education.
“If they find obsolete content or content that may relate to the four aforementioned offenses, they should delete it,” added the office.
Last week, China passed a security law prohibiting four national security crimes: subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
The authorities quickly stated that political views subscribing to independence or autonomy would be considered illegal under the new law.
Rights groups and legal analysts have warned that the general wording of the law, which was kept secret until it was passed, would have a deterrent effect on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous center.
The order for schools to examine and remove all contraband books comes two days after Hong Kong libraries said they were also removing titles deemed to be breaking the law for examination.
Among those removed from the shelves were one by prominent activist Joshua Wong, another by pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan and several other titles written by Chin Wan, an academic who is believed to be the sponsor of a movement “localist” advocating greater self-determination for the city.
Hong Kong has some of the best universities in Asia and a campus culture where subjects that would be taboo on the mainland are still discussed and written.
But Beijing has made clear that education in the city will become more “patriotic,” especially after a year of huge, often violent, and largely youth-led pro-democracy protests.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
