Hong Kong’s Academic Freedom Declines Under National Security Law

Since the Chinese government imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong on June 30, 2020, educational freedom in the city has been declining. Many important aspects of education, such as civil liberties, including the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, are under attack. Students and teachers are fearful of being targeted and harassed.

Human Rights Watch Report

A recent report titled, ‘We can’t write the Truth anymore’: Academic Freedom in Hong Kong Under the National Security Law, released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), claims that freedom of expression, assembly, and association are under assault in all eight of Hong Kong’s publicly funded universities. According to the report, these universities have become increasingly repressive, with students and faculty widely self-censoring due to fear of harassment, retribution, and even prosecution.

Statements from HRW

Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Hong Kong students and faculty, accustomed to academic freedom, now have to tread carefully to avoid retribution for what they teach, research, and publish, and even with whom they associate. The Chinese government considers gaining ideological control over Hong Kong’s universities a top priority, and many students and faculty now find themselves in the line of fire.”

University Policies and Actions

The HRW report also claims that the leadership in these universities has enforced abusive policies and repeatedly harassed student unions. Members of these student unions can no longer effectively function as elected representatives of the student bodies. The report states that university administrations have scrubbed clean notice boards known as “Democracy Walls,” removed memorials of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, penalized students for holding peaceful protests, censored student publications, and used university security guards to monitor students in public spaces.

Interviews and Findings

According to HRW, the report is based on interviews with faculty and students from all eight publicly funded Hong Kong universities and a review of media reports in both Chinese and English. Interviewed individuals claimed that they regularly self-censor in classrooms, when writing and publishing articles, applying for academic funding, and deliberating over which speakers to invite to conferences and events. One individual reported being reported to the Hong Kong police by his university for an academic article discussing artwork made during the 2019 protests.