Hong Kong’s education authorities have issued new regulations ordering schools to conduct national security checks for student activities conducted by external organisations to ensure they do not promote “political propaganda.”
According to updated guidelines published for the new school year, schools should review the details of activities held by external organisations or individuals, including the nature, background, and mode of the activities, as well as the identities and background of the organisers or guests.
“This is to ensure that the activities are in alignment with the learning goals of school education and do not involve contents that endanger national security, nor promote political propaganda and improper values,” the Education Bureau said in the August 2025 edition of its School Administration Guide.
“There should also be no any sensitive or controversial issues involved,” the bureau said, without specifying what contents would be considered as such.
The 313-page document, which mentions national security about 50 times, also newly requires that all reading activities “on campus and organised in the name of the school… do not lead to situations that endanger national security.”
Patriotic education
Existing provisions in the updated guidelines include vetting school library materials to ensure their collections do not have elements that endanger national security.
See also: How national security permeates Hong Kong bureaucracy, 5 years after law enacted
Chief Executive John Lee said last month that Hong Kong will continue implementing “patriotic education” in schools, with national security now an integral part of the curriculum.
National security-focused curriculum guidelines were introduced months after Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020. During Lee’s 2022 Policy Address, the leader announced patriotic education initiatives to enhance national identity.
Under a new humanities curriculum set to be trialled in the coming school year, primary school students will be required to have a basic knowledge of national defence, the Beijing-enacted security legislation, and the People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi had earlier said that Hong Kong schools should cultivate patriotism among students and step up training for teachers to prevent “hostile forces from infiltrating schools.”
