More grim news… The Principal of the Australian International School in Hong Kong has resigned.
I was here in Hong Kong when the school was established. And I took part in various functions at it over the years, when I was wearing an Oz government hat. Now the Principal has resigned to head back home, for the usual "personal reasons", though of course suspicion lurks that it’s because of the deteriorating climate for free speech and the fear teachers have that they can get caught up in the draconian National Security Law. Well done, Pan-Dems. Well done, Beijing. The former will deny any role; the latter don't care. Hong Kong's school system has been thrown into turmoil with teachers claiming they are being monitored, Catholic and Anglican systems delivering "patriotic education" and textbooks carrying warnings of criminal liabilities for failing to teach the correct national history.
The crackdown, driven by national security laws imposed by Beijing, comes on top of the coronavirus pandemic already affecting schools.
