HONG KONG—Hong Kong teachers who backed antigovernment protests—by taking to the streets or supporting the demonstrators on social media—are being reprimanded and, in some cases, fired as China’s Communist Party moves to stamp out dissent.
Many observers say they fear the city’s tradition of liberal education and critical thinking will be supplanted by Chinese-style pro-government lessons and suppression of political discourse. Pressure has mounted since Beijing imposed a sweeping new national-security law here at the end of June.
The law calls for heightened supervision and regulation of schools—measures that follow months of warnings to teachers that they not discuss their political views with students or participate in protest activities.
Raymond Yeung, who was arrested at a protest last year, said he was told that, after four years teaching at the Diocesan Girls’ School, his contract wouldn’t be renewed. Mr. Yeung said school authorities started investigating him after a January rally where he said teachers should take a political stand.
The school didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Students held signs during a pro-democracy protest near their school in Hong Kong on June 12.
Photo: isaac lawrence/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMr. Yeung taught liberal studies, a compulsory subject in Hong Kong added to the curriculum in 2009 to broaden students’ knowledge of current events and teach them to think critically. It has come under attack in the past year from Chinese and local officials for politicizing young people.
Because of the new national-security law, “We might not dare to talk about the human rights movement in China, its one-party rule, or even natural disasters,” Mr. Yeung said.
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About 100 teachers have been arrested in relation to the protest movement in the past year, along with more than 3,000 primary, secondary and university students, according to government officials, who say schools have helped foster discontent.
At an education summit earlier this month, Hong Kong’s top local official, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said: “We can’t help but ask, what is wrong with the education in Hong Kong?” She went on to say, “I hope that the National Security Law is also a turning point for returning education to education and returning students to the right track.”
Officials say they have received 222 complaints about teachers since protests broke out; so far they have conducted 180 investigations and issued written warnings to or reprimanded 26 teachers. Others received “advice” or “verbal reminders.” About half of the cases are still being investigated.
Raymond Yeung says his teaching contract at a girls school in Hong Kong wasn’t renewed this year.
Photo: JOYU WANG/The Wall Street JournalA spokeswoman for the city’s Education Bureau, which oversees schools, said complaints had been dealt with fairly, and no teacher was punished because of “a particular political view.” She added: “We do, however, emphasize that teachers should not express their views in hate speech or through violence.”
She said the bureau had no data on how many teachers’ contracts hadn’t been renewed.
Ip Kin-yuen, a pro-democracy lawmaker elected by teachers and other educators, said teachers were in “fear and trembling” that lessons, assignments and exams would be scrutinized by their parents, who might report them to the city’s Education Bureau.
“Any small mistakes are put under a microscope,” Mr. Ip said, noting that teachers are under huge pressure due to the complaints they might receive for their teaching, as well as their online speech on private social-media accounts.
The new national-security law criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security. It also mandates tighter controls on academic institutions, the internet and media—areas Beijing has total control of in the mainland but which have thrived freely for decades in the former British colony.
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The Education Bureau had already banned students from forming human chains, a popular peaceful way to deliver pro-democracy messages in a silent form, as well as singing the protest anthem and chanting words deemed as promoting independence. The bureau has since asked schools to review all teaching materials and get rid of any that could “provoke any acts or activities which endanger national security.”
A summer reading program that provides free books to primary and secondary school students has been criticized this year by those favoring more autonomy for Hong Kong for recommending books favoring Beijing-linked publishers and heavily focused on topics related to Chinese history and culture, as well as promoting Chinese ethics and morals.
Of 1,185 respondents to a June survey by the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, 92.4% said they felt pressure from the government; 80.3% of them said they have avoided discussing sensitive issues in the classroom; and 91.8% said they had a negative outlook for the city’s education system.
Teachers face increased pressure because complaints are filed more often, said Fung Wai-wah, chairman of the teachers’ union. He criticized the Education Bureau’s arbitrary handling of such cases as it investigates anonymous complaints.
A public banner for Hong Kong’s new national-security law this month.
Photo: anthony wallace/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images“Education can’t be only about the positive things,” Mr. Fung said, adding he fears Hong Kong’s classrooms becoming more like those on the mainland.
Fong Chak Tin, a liberal studies teacher at a different school from Mr. Yeung’s, is now preparing new teaching materials on the new security law and reviewing others while trying to source a range of reference materials from news organizations to make sure he presents different views to his students.
He said that because the security law is so broad it is hard to know what is covered and what is unacceptable. He said some colleagues were planning to use only government-issued materials to make sure they didn’t accidentally cross any lines. “It’s a type of self-censorship,” he said.
Another secondary-school teacher, who would give only his last name, Wong, said his contract wasn’t renewed after he was reported for “making inappropriate illustrations.”
His school received an anonymous complaint alleging he had published political cartoons on social media. Officials demanded he tell them whether he was responsible for the images, Mr. Wong said.
After seeking advice from the teachers’ union, Mr. Wong challenged the authenticity of the complaint. He didn’t hear back until June when his contract didn’t get renewed. He said the school told him it was a budget issue.
“Every teacher here is so worried and really scared,” Mr. Wong said. “Where is the red line? This is something that we the educators have not yet figured out.”
Write to Joyu Wang at joyu.wang@wsj.com and Lucy Craymer at Lucy.Craymer@wsj.com
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