Patriotic Education Proposed in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Government is planning to introduce patriotic education in primary schools. Are we going back to 1984?

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Moral and National Education

The Hong Kong Government is proposing to introduce a Moral and National Education Curriculum (德育及國民教育科) in primary schools. Chaired by Professor Li Cheuk-Fun (李焯芬教授), a draft has been released for consultation. The objective of this curriculum is to build “national harmony, identity and unity among individuals”. Those who support it argue that patriotic education is common practice in Western education. This proposal has also raised a few eyebrows in the society.


(It is worth noting that this document is pretty poorly written, both in the use of language and in the arguments. Besides, this document is not indexed from the Education Bureau’s home page under “What’s New”. Perhaps it is considered unimportant by the Government? But if it is a consultation document, then shouldn’t it be better publicised?)


Tame action to correct misguided public views

The document suggested that the general public in Hong Kong is often misguided. Part of the objective of this curriculum is to correct the public’s views. If that is the objective, then the action is far too tame. Why teach primary school students only? To tackle this problem head on, the Government should set up a new Ministry of Truth, with the remit to inform the public how the real world looks like.

As China is run by the Communist Party, perhaps Marxism should be included in the curriculum. As religion is an important part of the society, the government should perhaps include in the curriculum clear classification of religions and cults.

This curriculum is compulsory. It is probably natural to make a good grade in this subject a prerequisite for all government posts in the future. That would help to enhance harmony and unity in the government.


Need to address the root of the problem

The trouble is: there are many causes for social unrest. For example, with a Gini coefficient of 5.33 in 2006, Hong Kong ranked 16 from the bottom of all countries in terms of economic inequality. It was below countries like El Salvador, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which is not best known for their political stability.

The Government needs to address the root of the causes for social unrest. Pulling a woollen hat over the public’s eyes may work for a while, but patriotic education is by no means a very effective hat if generous moves such as giving away 6,000 Hong Kong dollars per citizen failed to please the public. Hong Kong people are intelligent enough to see through the woollen hats. Perhaps the Government sees exactly that as part of the problem. Perhaps this new curriculum is designed to reduce the intelligence of the next generation. It will only work if the next generation shares the same intelligence as that of the designer of this policy.


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