Hong Kong’s elite schools vet book donations for national security risks

An elite Hong Kong government school has warned that some books donated by alumni may contain material potentially breaching national security legislation, pledging to adopt a new policy rejecting publications with political propaganda or illegal content.

King’s College, in Mid-Levels, revealed the decision in its latest annual report on safeguarding national security and promoting national security education.

In its report, the 99-year-old institution said many alumni and supporters had donated books to show their backing, but it found that some titles potentially risked breaching the national security law and had decided to introduce a mechanism to handle them.

“Some of these older books were published many years ago and the origins of the books were unknown. They may not be suitable for current educational development and student growth and may even contain content that could potentially violate the Hong Kong national security law,” it said.

Hong Kong’s national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020, bans acts of collusion with foreign countries to endanger national security, secession, subversion and terrorist activities.

Since the 2022-23 academic year, schools have been required to fully implement administrative and educational measures on safeguarding national security and related education.