Good Hope School Under Fire Over Cantonese Ban in Graduation Video

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A set of graduation video production guidelines allegedly circulated at Good Hope School, a direct-subsidy girls' school on Clear Water Bay Road, has sparked controversy. English narration is permitted, and Mandarin with English subtitles is also allowed—but Cantonese audio has been listed as strictly forbidden. Some students questioned why Cantonese was acceptable in campus-life videos over the past two years, yet restricted for what is a once-in-a-lifetime secondary school farewell video. More alarming still, the guidelines reportedly state that if Cantonese is recorded, the class concerned will have to bear additional consequences.

📋 Language Rules for Farewell Video Revealed Item by Item
The circulated guidelines show that video narration and character dialogue may only be in English, or in Mandarin with English subtitles added. If the audio track contains Cantonese, the relevant section must be muted and the sound effects re-processed. The restrictions also cover on-screen text: Chinese content must use standard written Chinese, and Cantonese colloquial expressions are not permitted. Even in the segment thanking Chinese Language teachers, students are required to speak in Mandarin and provide written Chinese subtitles, leaving Cantonese with virtually no place in the entire farewell video.

🗣️ Netizens Question the Arrangement After Incident Exposed
After the incident came to light, a large number of netizens expressed sympathy for the students, questioning whether the school was merely encouraging English usage or singling out Cantonese—a language widely used in daily life in Hong Kong—for exclusion. Some even criticised the arrangement as "erasing Cantonese." The student who publicised the guidelines pointed out that Cantonese had always been used in high school campus-life videos over the past two years, yet was restricted for the final farewell ceremony of their secondary school life. She not only worried about the difficulty of preserving memories in the language she knows best, but also questioned the educational meaning behind the rules and their impact on students' space for expression.

🏫 English-Medium Background Fuels Further Controversy
The twist is that Good Hope School itself genuinely uses English as its main medium of instruction. The publicly available Secondary School Profiles also show that, apart from Chinese Language Education and Chinese History, classes and activities at the school are mainly conducted in English, while some Chinese subjects may be taught in Mandarin or Cantonese. Precisely because Cantonese is not entirely absent from campus teaching, the explicit exclusion of Cantonese from the farewell video has further intensified outside controversy. As of now, the disclosed information mainly consists of student doubts and online criticism. Whether the school will eventually adjust the guidelines remains to be seen.