Hong Kong was ruled by Britain during occupation but was never its colony, education authorities say

Education authorities have spelled out in their clearest terms yet the “correct and accurate understanding” of Hong Kong’s history, stating the city was never a colony despite having been under colonial rule during the British “occupation”.

In an article posted on its website on Tuesday, the Education Bureau said it was not seeking to deny the city’s history but that students needed to have an accurate understanding of the basic facts of important past events of China.

The bureau also stated the 1997 handover was a “passing of authority” from Britain to China and not “a transfer of sovereignty”.

Some pro-Beijing figures have argued it is time to correct “wrong ideas” about the city’s past, while some Western media considered the revisions a bid to change the narrative.

In its article, the bureau said: “To say that Hong Kong was not a British colony is not to deny the history that Hong Kong had once been occupied by the British. It is to stress that using the word ‘colony’ to describe the status of Hong Kong is not appropriate.

“We have to let students have the correct understanding of the fact that China has always had sovereignty over Hong Kong. Since 1842, Britain had implemented ‘colonial rule’ in Hong Kong, but did not have sovereignty [over it]. As such, Britain had no right to allow Hong Kong to become self-autonomous or independent.”