It has been a rollercoaster year for families in Hong Kong, grappling with COVID-19 since the start of 2020.
Australians Anna* and John* have lived in Hong Kong for six years and have two school-age daughters. Anna says the past nine months have been stressful for everyone.
“It's been very hectic, confusing, emotional, with the closing and opening of schools. We've done half days, every second day, and now we've been off for quite a few months,” she told SBS News.
John says it has also been a tough time to live in such a densely populated place.
“There have been no sports since the start of the year. Growing up in Australia we’d still be able to go out in the backyard. But living in an apartment makes it really, really challenging,” he said.
“So we've been missing that physical element of what you’d normally get at school.”
Schools in Hong Kong were among the first in the world to face closures as the COVID-19 outbreak struck. But as the new academic year begins officially this week, concerns are shifting to the potential educational implications of Hong Kong’s new national security law.
School students having their temperature checked in June. Source: China News Service/Getty Images
The legislation was introduced at the end of June in a bid to quell long-running political unrest, and calls for independence from China. Amongst other things, it bans acts of subversion, which has already led to the criminalisation of using certain political slogans and the singing of a popular protest song.
Teachers are now worried it may restrict their academic freedom.
Australian professor Kerry Kennedy has worked at The Education University of Hong Kong for almost 20 years. He says the law won’t require fundamental changes at schools, but the uncertainty is causing a lot of concern.
“What we see now in Hong Kong is that there’s a lot of confusion. Should we stop talking about “this”? Should we not talk about independence, should we not sing the independence song? I think from the point of view of the government the answer is ‘yes, don’t do those things’, but from the point of view of adjudication that’s not clear,” he said.
He says more debate is needed to help teachers move forward with confidence.
Australian professor Kerry Kennedy says there is uncertainty around the new law. Source: Richard Kimber/SBS News
“I think educators and educational institutions will only be defeated by self-censorship, and that may not be something that the government is disappointed with, but I think the problem is that when people say ‘let's not do this and let’s not do this’, it's about self-censorship rather than real censorship from the point of view of the government.”
Hong Kong’s largest international schools group the English Schools Foundation caters for almost 18,000 students from kindergarten to secondary level. It says it is reviewing its curriculum to make sure it is safe following the passage of the legislation.
It has also issued guidelines to teachers warning them not to promote activities that undermine the government’s authority, and says the classroom is not a safe space for debate or discussion.
John says the law is not an immediate concern, but it is weighing on the minds of parents.
The Australian International School Hong Kong. Source: Richard Kimber/SBS News
“It’s an unknown right now, but as far as we’re concerned, it’ll be curriculum as normal.”
An additional worry for international schools is whether the law may make it difficult to attract top international teaching talent to come to Hong Kong, or prompt worried existing staff members to consider moving elsewhere.
Last month, the head of the Australian International School Hong Kong, Mark Hemphill, announced he would be leaving at the end of the year, but dismissed any connection to the law, saying his decision was for family reasons.
SBS News reached out to several teachers at the school to discuss the concerns over the law. Most said they didn’t want to speak out, but one said more discussion was needed between schools and the government to help teachers better understand the law’s implications.
The reopening of schools in Hong Kong is being seen as a big step towards helping the city get back to normal, but with so many political uncertainties there are still many questions about what the new normal will really be like.
*Names have been changed
Richard Kimber is a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong
