Changes in Hong Kong’s education policies and conditions in recent years under the atmosphere of Chinese-style political correctness

Since the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, both the Chinese government and the Hong Kong government, along with pro-establishment figures, have attributed the political unrest to perceived problems within Hong Kong’s education system. In response, the Hong Kong government has increasingly aligned itself with Chinese-style political correctness. This study adopts “Chinese-style political correctness” as an analytical lens to investigate recent changes in Hong Kong’s educational policies and conditions. It first reviews developments in education policy from the 1997 handover to the 2019 movement, and then applies discourse analysis to official documents to examine how these texts reflect shifts in education policy after 2019. Supplementary sources are used to contextualize these changes within broader societal developments. The findings suggest that, under the prevailing discourse of political correctness, education policies have tilted toward values endorsed by the Chinese government, such as patriotism, national education, and nationalism. These trends have contributed to structural and cultural transformations in the educational landscape, including the dissolution of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, increased student withdrawals due to emigration, and a shortage of experienced teachers. The study underscores the far-reaching consequences of excessive state power on education.