Prestigious Hong Kong school withdraws unapproved Cantonese ban following controversy

A prestigious Hong Kong girls’ school has issued a full withdrawal of a guideline banning Cantonese from being spoken in a graduation video after the move sparked controversy over the weekend, saying it bears “full responsibility” for the incident.

Good Hope School issued the public statement on Monday, after it faced backlash over a leaked production guideline stating that Cantonese was “forbidden” in the video production. The school’s principal, Gary Harfitt, emailed students and parents to clarify that the language was not banned.

The Monday statement said: “Language is never mere communication; it carries our memories, emotions, affections and is the living soul of our heritage.”

“Good Hope School wishes to state unequivocally that it has never been our ethos to constrain the mother tongue of any child entrusted to our care, and nor shall it ever be,” it continued.

“We acknowledge, with profound contrition, that our previous document caused distress, misgiving, and sorrow amongst our students, parents, alumnae and the wider community. For this lapse, the school bears full responsibility,” the statement said.

‘Fully and formally withdrawn’

The guideline document has been “fully and formally withdrawn,” and consultations have begun between student leaders, the graduating class, and parent representatives, it added. “Any fresh guidance will emerge through partnership, ensuring that every pupil is free to recount her school days in voices and accents that ring clearest to her heart.”

Screenshots of the guideline went viral on social media platform Threads on Friday evening. It said that “Cantonese is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN” for speaking, dialogue, and voiceovers and that “you must use English or Mandarin.”

GHS principal Harfitt apologised and clarified that the guideline was issued before it could be revised. However, the Monday statement did not address why the guideline was initially issued or if a review would be conducted over the matter.

“As Principal, I take full responsibility for this oversight, but want to stress that the language/message on the slide does not reflect the policy, the reality of our school, or the reality of the S6 Graduation Ceremony,” he said.

According to the 2021 Hong Kong Census, over 88 per cent of the city’s residents use Cantonese as their usual spoken language, and close to 94 per cent are able to speak it.

The Education Bureau said it has urged the school to review event arrangements but did not comment on the school’s language policies.

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James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.