Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Thousands Rally in Hong Kong Against National Education
Thousands Rally in Hong Kong Against National Education
By Fox Hu on September 01, 2012
More than 3,000 Hong Kong residentsbraved the rain to protest the governments plan to begin anational education program, which they say is biased towardBeijing.
Parents, students and teachers were among those gatheringoutside the governments new headquarters on Tim Mei Avenuetoday, the first of the school semester, demanding thecurriculum be scrapped. Demonstrators said they fear thematerial is biased towards the Chinese Communist Party and maystifle independent thinking.
The national education program is aimed at fosteringblind patriotism among students, said Joshua Wong, a spokesmanfor Scholarism, an organizer of the rally. We fear that manystudents will be brainwashed.
The authorities intend to extend national educationclasses, which aim to foster Chinese identity, to secondaryschools from 2013 and phase in the lessons over three years.
Todays rally comes after tens of thousands of parents andstudents marched against the program on July 29, many clad inblack and white to symbolize the contrast between right andwrong. More than 90,000 people attended the July 29 protests,according to Andrew Shum of the Hong Kong Christian Institute,which helped arrange the demonstrations. Police estimated that,at most, about 32,000 protesters were in the procession.
Police estimated about 3,400 people were gathered fortodays rally at 5 p.m. local time. Three members of Scholarism,a student group, have been on a hunger strike outside thebuilding for more than two days.
Not Brainwashing
Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kongs leader who was inaugurated onJuly 1, said in a July 30 statement that his government wontforce the introduction of the lessons in September. Thegovernment isnt in a rush to start national education andlabeling it as brainwashing would be wrong, Carrie Lam, thecitys chief secretary of administration, said today.
Theres no plan to forcibly push ahead with the program inSeptember, Lam said, according to a TV report.
We want our kids to know more about China, but suchcurriculums may teach them to confuse a country with its rulingparty, said Eva Chan, of Parents Concern Group on NationalEducation, which helped organize the rally today. If taughtlike this at young ages, they may not be able to criticize thegovernment.
Textbooks in the program may give a pro-Communist Partyaccount of Chinas history and political system, according toWilly Wo-Lap Lam, an adjunct professor of history at the ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong.
Progressive, United
One textbook explains how the Communist Party is aprogressive, united and effective ruler, comparing it with theU.S. where a two-party system leads to eternal debates andgridlock, Lam said in a July 29 interview.
The level of crudity is even worse than that of thetextbooks you find in China, he said.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that in July marked 15years since its return to Chinese rule, is officially autonomousexcept for matters of national defense and diplomatic relations.
Voters head to the polls on Sept. 9 to elect members of thecitys Legislative Council.
Lawmakers have challenged Leungs credibility as thefinancial centers leader after his home was found to haveillegally built structures and his development secretary steppeddown to address corruption allegations.
To contact the reporter on this story:Fox Hu in Hong Kong at
fhu7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story
aul Tighe at
ptighe@bloomberg.net
Thousands Rally in Hong Kong Against National Education - Businessweek