Hong Kong ordered to tighten official language on relations with mainland China

Civil servants have been told to standardise the use of language in correspondence involving the city's sovereignty and its relations with the mainland.

The "rare move" comes as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying warned of the growing advocacy of Hong Kong's independence in his policy address last month and follows the first ever white paper released by the State Council in June restating the authority of the central government to implement "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.

Both incidents raised fears that Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy was under threat as Beijing was tightening its grip on the city's governance.

In a document seen by the South China Morning Post, the Administration Wing issued a bilingual circular to civil servants yesterday on the "Correct Use of Terminology" to "ensure the [use of certain expressions] are correctly formulated in both verbal and written correspondence".

"Bureaus/Departments should not use the expression 'China-Hong Kong Relations' to describe Mainland-Hong Kong relations," the circular stipulated. "The proper expression should be 'Mainland-Hong Kong relations'."

Government officers were also told not to use "reunification" to describe the city's handover to the mainland, as the term "should only be used in the context of the Taiwan issue". The correct terms should be "return to China/the Motherland" or "resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong".