A brilliant cartoon that teaches about ‘undermining’ and activities that foster a sense of national pride: children in Hong Kong will now learn many different lessons as new guidelines bring schools in line with China’s comprehensive national security law in the field last year set the year.
Students of about six years in Hong Kong will now be taught the basic concepts of national security legislation and details of the four crimes – undermining, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces – in a campaign to instill patriotism from an early age.
Authorities issued the reforms through a series of guides sent to schools and videos released online.
They will get a beating for many parents in Hong Kong who have long feared that education in the city will be led by Beijing.
A new ‘sound picture book’ released by the Education Bureau on Friday contains an animated, brilliant owl wearing a graduation hat and explaining the law to students.
“We have the right to express our opinion legally, but we may not do anything that threatens other people or society,” the owl explained in the video, entitled “Let’s Learn About National Security.”
Schools are also encouraged to ‘organize various game activities, such as puppetry, board games … to establish a good atmosphere and improve students’ understanding of national security’, according to the guidelines.
“As far as national security is concerned, there is no room for debate or compromise,” the city’s education bureau said in a circular to schools on Thursday.
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Beijing introduced national security legislation in Hong Kong in June 2020, putting the global financial center on an authoritarian path more strongly after months of fierce protests.
The new educational guidelines published on Thursday indicate that his plans for Hong Kong go beyond destroying the differences of opinion, and that it is possible to bring about a broader societal survey that is the most tranquil city in line with the mainland of the Communist Party will bring.
The Hong Kong government has previously tried to introduce ‘national’ training courses to cultivate patriotism towards China, but has often encountered a city that traditionally enjoys greater freedoms than the mainland.
But national security will now be on the curriculum of several subjects, including biology and geography in secondary schools.
A spokesperson for the Education Bureau said in a statement on Thursday that schools should ensure that staff apply appropriate strategies to improve the student’s sense of national identity.
“Schools have an important role to play,” the spokesman said. Raymond Yeung, a former teacher who was partially blinded by a projectile during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, described the guidelines to Reuters as “one-dimensional, if not brainwashing.”
The United States, its allies, and international human rights organizations have strongly criticized China over national security legislation, which they say has been a growing suppression of divisions in Hong Kong.
In his first major foreign policy speech delivered on Thursday, President Joe Biden took a firm stance on China.
“US leadership must address this new moment of promoting authoritarianism, including China’s growing ambitions to compete with the United States,” he said.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on Friday and said in a press release that cooperation between China and the US could benefit the world on issues of climate change to Covid-19.
“China and the United States have broad common interests and carry special and important responsibilities for maintaining world peace and stability,” said spokesman Wang Wenbin.
“Like any relationship … differences between China and the United States are inevitable, but the common interests outweigh their differences.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Dawn Liu contributed.