Enhancing patriotism among the youth is one of the important agenda items of national development. Not only the part concerning Hong Kong and Macao in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) mentions “strengthening education on the Constitution and the Basic Law and national development, and enhancing national awareness and patriotism among Hong Kong and Macao people”. The subject was also discussed in a recent biweekly consultation meeting chaired by Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Although Hong Kong has been dedicating effort and resources to national education, notably in the past few years, the inclusion of national education in the latest national development plan tells us the central government attaches great importance to it and expects it to be carried out strategically. Based on past experience and the actual situation in Hong Kong, there are three areas we should pay attention to when implementing national education.
Firstly, we should keep our eyes on national identity. The discussion surrounding national education in the past often emphasized whether Hong Kong residents should recognize themselves as “Chinese” or “Hong Konger” from the outset. While this kind of discussion is academically meaningful, it can easily lead people into believe being Chinese is the antithesis of being a “Hong Konger”. As a result of the “one country, two systems” framework, dissimilarities exist between the life experience of Hong Kong youths and their mainland compatriots. Such differences are no less than their commonality, and are not conducive to creating a highly consistent sense of national identity among the youths in Hong Kong and the mainland. As a result, Hong Kong youths have naturally formed a sense of dual identities as both “Hong Konger” and Chinese, which can be manipulated by anti-China radicals to provoke conflicts between the two. Therefore, we should emphasize the promotion of national identity. Irrespective of the extent to which young people regard themselves as “Hong Konger”, as long as they recognize China as their own country, it would be a good starting point for the next step.
We should explore how to use relevant resources on the mainland to produce compelling cultural content suitable for Hong Kong’s environment
Secondly, efforts should be made at schools to lay the groundwork for promoting national education. This will include curriculum design and supervision of teachers’ conduct so as to prevent schools from becoming a hotbed of anti-China heretics, separatism and national security threats. Nevertheless, we must not have unrealistic expectations of its effectiveness, since schools in Hong Kong are geared toward grooming students for examinations and equipping them with practical skills instead of emphasizing ethical education. This culture is unlikely to change in the short term. Besides, most of the teachers in Hong Kong are not adequately educated themselves to administer patriotic education.
Thirdly, culture should be the primary medium for national education. Schools only lay the groundwork for national education, whereas knowledge is often more effectively acquired outside campus. The so-called culture is to establish a way of life effective for inculcating national education. Youth culture nowadays is centered on the internet and entertainment. China’s mainland has rapidly enhanced its soft power, with noteworthy achievements in building healthy culture through popular media such as animated series, and hip- hop and rap music. As these cultural creations, which enamor many young people, have gained a strong foothold on the mainland, relevant experience can be applied to Hong Kong in the promotion of national education.
Although the mainland has a strong foundation in the cultural and creative industries, the notable differences in the social cultural environment between Hong Kong and the mainland make it impossible to adopt the exact modus operandi in Hong Kong. Instead, we should explore how to use relevant resources on the mainland to produce compelling cultural content suitable for Hong Kong’s environment. This will be the medium of national education set out to establish the national identity among Hong Kong youths. As Guangdong has deeper cultural ties with Hong Kong, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area can serve as a platform for greater collaboration between cultural content creators on the subject of strengthening education on the Constitution and the Basic Law and national development, and enhancing national awareness and patriotism among Hong Kong and Macao people. The inclusion of national education in cultural content will gradually alter Hong Kong’s existing cultures, and it will be an effective long-term solution to the dual-identity conflict among the youths of Hong Kong.
The author is senior research officer of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.