Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Hong Kong ordered schools to adopt a more patriotic curriculum and advised teachers to report any violations of the city’s national security law, the government’s biggest move to reform the educational system after the 2019 protests.
The measures, announced on Thursday, seek to instill patriotism in children of kindergarten age through “storytelling, staging, drawing, singing, dancing and other activities” Students as young as six will learn to memorize crimes criminalized by national security law , which was imposed on the city by China last year, including subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers. The curriculum will cover all subjects from geography to biology.
“The fundamentals of education for national security are to develop in students a sense of belonging to the country, an affection for the Chinese people, a sense of national identity, as well as an awareness and a sense of responsibility to safeguard national security,” The Department Hong Kong Education Minister said in a statement.
The new curriculum could also impact Hong Kong approximately 52 international schools, which mainly serve the city’s expatriate population. The government statement said that international schools have a “responsibility” to help their students “acquire a correct and objective understanding” of the law, without elaborating.
No international school that Bloomberg sought was available for immediate comment.
Cutting ‘Black Hands’
Beijing blamed Hong Kong’s educational system for fomenting dissent and fueling protests that lasted for months opposing the Chinese government’s growing power over the former British colony. Hong Kong officials already he promised to “cut” the “black hands” – including teachers – considered insufficiently patriotic.
The Hong Kong government tried to introduce a patriotic education curriculum in 2012, but shelved the decision after massive protests. The latest attempt to do so will further align the financial center with the education system of mainland China, where students are, for example, obliged to study President Xi Jinping’s teachings.
College and high school students represented the majority of the frontline protesters in the 2019 protests, and under-18s accounted for nearly a fifth of the nearly 10,000 arrests made last December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Students also organized protest activities, including the formation of human chains and class boycotts, actions prohibited by the new rules.
Ip Kin-yuen, a former legislator and vice president of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union, said the new guidelines “are not conducive to learning or promoting the development of young minds”, and that in an environment where people are trying to avoid problems “the natural answer will be self-censorship”.
Owl Video
As part of its promotional materials, the government produced a 7-minute animation featuring an owl explaining the concept of national security, saying that it covers all aspects of Hong Kong society, including culture, cybersecurity and ecology. The video also says that it is “the right and duty of the Central Authorities to enact the National Security Law” and that other countries have similar laws.
Garrie Chow, a father with three children in Hong Kong schools, said the new curriculum means that students “cannot have independent thinking”.
In September, the English Schools Foundation, which operates 22 international schools in the city, launched and distributed a set of 15 pages of guidelines directing teachers to tell students that the classroom is not a “safe space” for discussion or debate. national. security law, South China Morning Post reported. The ESF did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Migration wave
The imposition of the new curriculum may increase the already growing number of people who emigrate to places like the United Kingdom and Taiwan. Some parents and teachers cited Beijing’s growing control over Hong Kong schools as one of the main reasons for leaving.
Jojo, 37-year old The Chinese and special education teacher who only gave her first name due to security fears, said she is trying to move to the UK later this year, joining thousands of others who have already done so via a path made available to Hong Kong holders British national passport (overseas). She is part of a WhatsApp group with 120 other local teachers who help educators obtain the skills and certifications needed to secure a job in the UK
“Students will have to follow (with the rules), but it will seriously affect their personal relationship with us,” said Jojo. “They are not going to trust us.”
– With the help of Chloe Lo
(Updates with more history across)