
Hong Kong schools warned on US Independence Day celebrations
Hong Kong's education authorities have reminded schools to be vigilant about any attempts to promote United States Independence Day celebrations on campus, the Post has learned.
This follows an online claim that authorities had told schools to discourage students from attending July 4 events at the US consulate. Furthermore, the claim suggested teachers should seek approval from their principals before attending any consular events.
A school principal confirmed receiving a verbal reminder from the Education Bureau in recent days about attempts to encourage US Independence Day celebrations on campus.
Another principal said the bureau would circulate reminders about safeguarding national security occasionally, but did not believe the timings coincided with specific events, adding that the last time they received a reminder was last week.
The notice reportedly came from the bureau ahead of the United States' Independence Day on July 4.
A Facebook page under the name 'Edu Lancet' claimed on Wednesday that in recent weeks, schools had received 'friendly reminders' from the bureau's regional education offices that students taking part in American Independence Day events in Hong Kong could violate national security.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
China-EU friction in spotlight, excessive dining austerity measures: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP's biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing China's central bank is launching a new connect programme with Hong Kong to facilitate cross-border payments – Beijing's latest move to open up its financial sector and also leverage the southern financial centre to better connect with the rest of the world. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen Decades of overinvestment and state subsidies in China, weak domestic consumption, an addiction to manufacturing, crashing corporate profits, zombie companies that the state does not let die and a superpower trade war have, the EU believes, created a perfect storm. Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed again in the South China Sea, with Beijing saying its coastguard used a water cannon to expel a Philippine government vessel near Scarborough Shoal on Friday. China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said on Friday afternoon that Philippine vessel 3006 had 'ignored repeated warnings and insistently intruded' into Chinese waters near the strategic shoal.


South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong has been, and always will be, a very special Chinese city
So, Hong Kong is not going down the drain after all. What a relief! At least that's the latest reassessment of Stephen Roach, who is something of a big potato among the China commentariat. Some 16 months ago, the former Morgan Stanley, Asia boss seemed to have finally joined the 'death of Hong Kong' brigade, having declared that it is 'just another Chinese city' now. His claim – 'it pains me to say Hong Kong is over' – caused a bit of a shock because his views were usually considered moderate and measured. Actually, we are still 'just like any other big Chinese city', he concluded in a recent Financial Times op-ed, like 'Shenzhen with its technology, Guangzhou with its advanced manufacturing'. Hong Kong is 'special' only for its 'role as China's major international financial centre'. Well, Hong Kong had long been the main foreign exchange and investment funding source for communist China even under the British. Its functions may have expanded, but its key financial role remains. Not much has changed. Roach said he used three 'Hong Kong is over' metrics: worsening governance and collapsed autonomy; declining economy tied to the rest of the nation; and a victim caught in the US-China rivalry. It is the last criterion that Roach has changed his mind on, rather than the first two. Actually, he is a Johnny-come-lately. A while back, this newspaper, among others, was already pointing out how the city's capital market was roaring back, with its initial public offerings poised to regain the global top spot. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index has vastly outperformed the S&P 500 in the United States this year. Roach now admits: 'Hong Kong has benefited from the more powerful strain of financial decoupling between the US and China.


South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Facing multiple crises, China is stressing resilient governance over ideology
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently commemorated the 120th birth anniversary of Chen Yun, one of the foundational economic planners of the Communist Party of China. Amid the commemoration's celebratory tone, Xi's speech signals a rhetorical shift. The references to communist conviction so prominent in the 2015 address delivered for Chen's 110th birthday were relatively sparse in Xi's remarks from earlier this month. Instead, there was polished language relating to development planning and political resilience. In 2015, Xi's speech commemorating Chen Yun's 110th birthday emphasised unwavering faith in Marxism and communism. Xi also spoke of Chen as a disciplined party member. The between-the-lines message was clear: ideology was to be re-centred as the Communist Party's main source of legitimacy during Xi's first term. This year, Xi portrayed Chen as a model of disciplined governance, praising his ability to grasp key points, set aside time to consider strategic issues and simultaneously balance state-led and market approaches to economic planning. Xi highlighted Chen's 15-character maxim – 'not following superiors and not following books but instead following facts while exchanging, comparing and repeating' – offering it as a guide for cadres navigating today's volatile world. The symbolism is clear: Chen was not just a revolutionary elder but a technocrat who embraced policy logic in uncertain times.