University of Warwick Undergraduate Research Support Scheme
What is a
‘Communist School’?
The amendment of the Education Ordinance and the establishment of the Special Bureau aim at inspecting and suppressing the ‘communist schools’ in Hong Kong. Although the British government did not define ‘communist school’, a secret report titled ‘The Communist Threat in Education’ in 1974 mentions that communist schools in Hong Kong shared these features:​
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Controlled by the Communist Party Committee as a propagation centre of Maoism
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The school management controlled a number of teachers, students and parent-teacher societies within the schools
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Main indoctrination themes: patriotism to China, acceptance of Maoism, and rejection of British authority
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Most teachers came from the leftist circle, not local universities or teacher’s colleges
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Maoism was promoted in lessons and extra-curricular activities [1]
[1] National Archive, FCO 40/382, ‘Communist threat to education in Hong Kong: communist schools’
For example, this is a section of the English exam paper of Heung To Middle School, which was considered 'communist' by the British government, in 1968.
IV. Translate the following sentences into English (Questions set in Chinese).
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Let us sing in praise of Chairman Mao.
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Power grows out from the gun barrel.
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Making revolution depends on Mao Tse-tung’s thought.
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We are determined to drive out US imperialists. [2]
[2] National Archive, FCO 40/212, ‘Brief on communist controlled schools for Lord Shepherd's visit to Hong Kong’
Schools considered 'communist' by the British government include:
Tat Tak Institute
(1946-1949)
Chung Wah Middle School
(1926-1967)
Pui Kiu Middle School
(1946-present)
Besides, the British government addressed the ‘communist schools’ in different ways throughout the colonial era.
There are the phrases it had used:
1949-1959
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“schools where communist influence existed”
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“communist sympathisers”
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“schools where indoctrination takes place”
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“pro-communist”/“infiltrated”/“penetrated”/“communist-controlled” schools
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“schools of political nature”
*The government officials stressed that there were “no communist schools”
1959-1969
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“communist-controlled schools”
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“communist schools”
1969-1979
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“communist schools”
The reluctance to directly name those schools as ‘communist schools’ suggested that the British government was uncertain of their political background. After 1959, it directly referred to them as ‘communist schools’. While government officials might do so for simplicity, the change in phrasing illustrates that the British government was more sure about the political nature of the ‘communist schools’. It was more familiar with the communist circle in Hong Kong thanks to more inspections and negotiations with Beijing.
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For simplicity, this research addresses the schools with communist infiltration in the opinion of the British government as 'communist schools'.
