Hong Kong Watch publishes new report on Patriotic Education reforms in Hong Kong
Today, Hong Kong Watch is publishing a groundbreaking new report on ‘Patriotic Education’ reforms in Hong Kong’s education system, exposing new details about how Hong Kong schoolchildren are taught about the importance of safeguarding national security and obeying the 2020 National Security Law (NSL).
The report, titled Patriotic Education: Learning to love the Hong Kong National Security Law, covers the history of the ‘Patriotic Education’ campaign in the People’s Republic of China, from its launch directly after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, to the Hong Kong education system reform in the aftermath of Beijing’s crackdown on the 2019 pro-democracy protest movement.
With access to original material from Hong Kong school textbooks and interviews with former Hong Kong teachers, the report demonstrates in detail how classroom materials have been rewritten to promote Xi Jinping Thought and criticise ‘foreign influence’ on Hong Kong. It also shows how the Hong Kong government has attempted to instil ‘national security consciousness’ in schoolchildren through extensive teaching on the content and purpose of the NSL.
The report also shows that Western universities with institutional ties to universities in Hong Kong – whether in North America, Australia or the United Kingdom – have not made any assessment of the risks to the academic freedom of their students.
You can read the full report here.
Thomas Benson, report co-author and Head of Advocacy and Research at Hong Kong Watch, said:
“‘Patriotic Education’ reforms in Hong Kong demonstrate the extent to which Beijing aims to use the National Security Law to comprehensively remodel Hong Kong society – teaching an entire generation of Hong Kongers to mistrust western countries and obey the national security laws now in force in Hong Kong.
Governments should realise that the national security apparatus in Hong Kong is not just about prosecuting dissidents or maintaining social order. It aims to remodel the political and social identities of Hong Kongers, to cultivate nationalist feelings and loyalty to the state. Our report demonstrates what this process looks like in practice, as experienced by hundreds of thousands of school-aged children in Hong Kong today.”
香港監察發表香港愛國教育改革報告 揭露北京意圖利用國安法重塑香港下一代政治及社會身分認同
香港監察今日發表有關香港「愛國教育」改革的新報告，詳細揭露香港學童如何被教導維護國家安全及遵守2020年《國家安全法》的重要性。
報告題為《Patriotic Education: Learning to love the Hong Kong National Security Law》，梳理了中國「愛國教育」運動的歷史——從1989年天安門廣場屠殺事件後開展運動，到北京打壓2019年香港民主抗爭後推行香港教育制度改革。
報告透過查閱香港學校教科書及訪問前香港教師，詳細展示課堂材料如何被改寫成推廣「習近平思想」，同時批評「外國勢力」對香港的影響。報告亦說明香港政府如何企圖透過廣泛教導《國安法》的內容和宗旨，向學童逐漸灌輸「國家安全意識」。
報告亦顯示，與香港大學院校有機構合作關係的西方大學（無論是位於北美、澳洲還是英國）均未對學生面臨的學術自由風險做過任何評估。
報告全文可在此處閱覽。
報告合著者、香港監察倡議及研究主管湯柏森（Thomas Benson）表示：
「香港的『愛國教育』改革顯示，北京意圖利用《國安法》全面重塑香港社會，教導整代香港人不信任西方國家，並遵守現時在香港實行的國家安全法例。
各國政府應意識到，香港的國家安全體制不單是為了檢控異見人士或維持社會秩序，更意圖重塑香港人的政治及社會身分認同，培養民族感情和對國家的忠誠。我們的報告展示了這個過程實際上如何運作，而現今香港數十萬學童正親歷其中。」
Photo: Cash Macanaya on Unsplash