{
  "id": 8667459,
  "title": "Hong Kong school told to review rules after outrage over ‘Cantonese ban in videos’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/hong-kong-school-told-to-review-rules-after-outrage-over-cantonese",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T10:57:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3368157/hong-kong-school-told-review-rules-after-outrage-over-cantonese-ban-videos"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong’s education authorities have asked a local secondary school to reevaluate its policies following a widely shared post alleging the institution banned Cantonese in graduation videos. The Education Bureau urged the school to review event arrangements and maintain communication with stakeholders. The controversy began when a post on Threads surfaced internal presentation slides from Good Hope School, a subsidized girls' school, stating that Cantonese audio would result in muting and redubbing sound effects, allowing only English and Mandarin. Principal Gary Harfitt later clarified that Cantonese was not prohibited at the school, acknowledging an oversight in a PowerPoint slide sent to Form Six students. Harfitt emphasized the school's commitment to preserving Cantonese alongside English and Mandarin, expressing regret for the incident and its impact on students' ability to express themselves in their native language.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong’s education authorities have urged a local secondary school to review its rules and guidelines for events after a post alleging the school banned Cantonese in graduation videos sparked outrage online. In a response to the South China Morning Post on Sunday, the government said the school has activated its crisis management team to follow up on the issue and sent an email to all teachers…",
  "key_points": [
    "Hong Kong education authorities asked Good Hope School to review Cantonese ban policies.",
    "Internal slides claimed Cantonese audio would result in muting and redubbing.",
    "Principal Gary Harfitt clarified Cantonese is not prohibited, expressed regret for incident."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}