ABSTRACT
One of the most spectacularly memorable moments during Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement from late September to early December was the hanging of a monumental yellow banner from Lion Rock, one of the most representative symbols of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB) has promoted the use of Putonghua as the medium of instruction (PMI) for the Chinese language subject in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong since the former colony's reversion to China. Facing immense public pressure generated by a series of pro-Chinese language campaigns across different social sectors, the government enacted the Official Languages Ordinance in January 1974. Hong Kong PMI schools have reportedly prohibited students from speaking Cantonese on campus. The chemical effect between anti-colonial and national fervour has become a conflict between the anti-national and pro-establishment camps in Hong Kong. As the third wave of the pro-Chinese movement had to differentiate Cantonese from Putonghua, the target of the anti-colonial dimension shifted to Putonghua.
