HONG KONG – First comes the colorful footage: an animation of Hong Kong’s skyline, like the opening series of a children’s show. Then a grinning girl and a boy appear on the screen and put a cartoon owl in a grade road and round glasses. Together they deliver an unusual admonition.
“Let’s learn about national security!”
Thus begins a video unveiled by the Hong Kong government this week to instill patriotism, loyalty and a strict love of the law among its youngest residents.
For the next seven minutes, the boy and girl, led by ‘Uncle Owl’, take a whirlwind tour through dangers facing Hong Kong, such as terrorism and hostile foreign powers. They learn of the forces that protect them from the dangers: the Hong Kong police and ultimately the central Chinese government.
“We are still young. How can we contribute to our society and country? asked the boy, a thought bubble floating over his head.
“I know! We must obey the law,” the girl replied as a light bulb with a thing above her came up.
The video, which officials say would be used to teach primary school pupils, is part of a broader push to revamp the school curriculum after months of fierce protests against the government in 2019.
Students made up nearly 40 percent of those arrested during the protest, and many officials accused teachers of corrupting young minds and turning them against Hong Kong and China. The Education Bureau has promised to eradicate ‘black sheep’, especially after Beijing introduced a comprehensive national security law last June.
Now it has shown how he plans to do it – starting with students as young as 6.
“So little speechless,” Carson Tsang, a high school student and spokesman for Hong Kong Ideologist, a student activist group, said of the video, adding that he did not see the need to teach young students about national security. not.
The video was released late Thursday, along with dozens of pages of guidelines on how schools are advised to teach about the new national safety legislation. The rules stipulate that primary school pupils must learn about how the People’s Liberation Army protects them, and the importance of central government agencies working directly in the city – a new provision under the law.
Previously, the Chinese authorities largely remained in the background in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was promised a high degree of autonomy when it returned to China in 1997.
Students in the secondary school will study the details of the law, with instruction on national security combined in subjects as broad as biology and geography. Teachers are urged to emphasize that ‘the campus is not a place to express political aspirations’, and to tell students that ‘as far as national security is concerned, there is no room for debate or compromise.’
School officials should call the police to students or teachers if a situation becomes ‘serious’, according to the guidelines. Activities that can cause intervention by law enforcement are singing slogans, singing political songs and wearing clothes with political messages.
“It’s definitely not too early to start primary school,” Hong Kong Education Secretary Kevin Yeung told reporters on Friday. “We can start with simple things first. In high school we can study further. ”
He continues: “In general, we point to the concept of national security and hope to train students to consciously take responsibility for maintaining national security.”
Compared to the strict admonitions of the guidelines, the video – with its whimsical sound effects, pastel colors and cute animations – seems accessible, even soft. But his message to his young viewers is no less clear about China’s vision for Hong Kong.
The owl begins by confirming that “we all know that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of our country” – a refutation of activists who have called for Hong Kong to become independent. The owl then points to a map of China, with a dotted line that also claims Taiwan and controversial parts of the South China Sea as Chinese territory.
Next, the owl gives an outline of the crimes outlined by the Security Act: Subversion, it says, without defining the term. Terrorism, with an animation of exploding dynamite. Conspiracy with a foreign land, illustrated by a silhouette of a person holding money bags and controlled by doll strings.
Throughout, the soundtrack – vaguely electronic, relentlessly evoked, somewhat reminiscent of corporate holding music – never stops.
Later, the owl uses terms that his young audience can better understand. “Imagine some students in school doing what they want, like skipping classes and running around here and there,” it suggests. “What would the lesson be like?”
The owl also compares the national security law, which defines crimes that can be punished with life imprisonment, with the expectation that people will not explode music at night. “While enjoying our rights and freedoms, we must consider the impact on others,” it said. The girl, who happily fiddled in front of loudspeakers, dutifully put on headphones.
On social media, some mocked the video because they expected elementary school students to understand words like inalienable and promulgation. Others were concerned that it might still be very effective.
Mr. Tsang, the student activist, said young children exposed to material such as the video would not learn to question official narratives.
“Ultimately, the government is practicing the thinking of primary students,” he said, adding that teachers would be reluctant to push back for fear of violating the law themselves.
Ip Kin-yuen, a former lawmaker representing the education sector, exposed the guidelines more broadly and asked why there was no public consultation period.
Mr. Ip said he is not opposed to the idea of teaching students about national security. But he said the government’s guidelines were aimed at indoctrination rather than commands.
“If we are going to have national security training, it has to be education,” he said. “It must be genuine, sincere education to open students’ minds, not to oppress them.”