Hong Kong proposes pinyin typing for Primary Two pupils; Education Bureau explains Cangjie and Quick are not in draft objective

Hong Kong's Education Bureau has explained why it is proposing that Primary Two pupils learn to type Chinese using Hanyu Pinyin under a new primary school technology curriculum, after questions were raised about the absence of other input methods commonly used in the city. (Photo: file photo: a classroom in a Hong Kong primary school. Photo: plkwch.edu.hk.)

Draft says Primary Two pupils should manage basic pinyin typing

The draft curriculum framework, published on October 30, says Primary Two pupils should be able to use a keyboard to enter Chinese using Hanyu Pinyin at a basic level. Hanyu Pinyin uses the Roman alphabet to represent Putonghua pronunciation, while Cangjie and Quick — two methods familiar to many Hong Kong users — use codes based on the shapes or components of Chinese characters, and are not named in the draft's Primary Two typing objective. In a statement published on November 9, the bureau said pupils would first become familiar with English keyboard input before moving on to Chinese, argued that pinyin typing could build on what children learn in their existing Putonghua lessons, and said the approach would avoid requiring pupils to learn a separate system for breaking down characters, such as Cangjie, from the beginning. It also said it considered the lack of consistency between Cantonese romanisation systems a difficulty for teachers and pupils learning Cantonese phonetic input.

New subject to start in the 2028/29 school year

The typing objective forms part of the new Information and Innovation Technology subject, which will also cover programming, artificial intelligence, robotics and the responsible use of technology. According to the bureau, Hong Kong primary schools will begin introducing the subject in the 2028/29 school year, starting with Primary One and Primary Four, with other years added progressively; schools that are ready may introduce it across all primary years at once, so the Primary Two objective would not necessarily be taught to every Primary Two pupil in 2028/29.

Bureau stresses other input methods are not banned

The bureau stressed that the framework remains a draft, and that naming pinyin in the Primary Two objective does not itself amount to a ban on schools teaching other Chinese input methods.

Sources: Hong Kong Education Bureau, November 9, 2026; LivinInHongKong, November 10, 2026.