Hong Kong debates ‘national education’ classes

But Hong Kong’s restive population is clamouring for the right to universal suffrage, which was guaranteed when the city returned to Chinese rule 15 years ago.

Beijing has indicated that Hong Kong may get that right as early as 2017, when the next chief executive is due for election.

Hong Kong Democrats believe the Chinese government is trying to influence the impressionable younger generation in order to ensure their future loyalty at the polls.

That is why tens of thousands of parents and their children took to the streets in July to protest against the introduction of national education.

Hong Kong’s government has shown no hint of retreat, though it has promised to examine the public’s concerns.

The Education Bureau says all schools that follow a Hong Kong curriculum must start the classes over a three-year period. Private schools, including international schools, are exempt.

Andrew Shum, a 26-year-old activist who helped organise the July protest, says this campaign is the biggest such movement in the city since 2003, when the government tried and failed to implement a controversial anti-subversion law.

“You know, Hong Kong used to be an immigration city. You arrive on your way to somewhere else, somewhere better. But the younger generation, we don’t think that way. This is our home. We want to make it better,” he said.

“Even though this isn’t a democratic city, we know what freedom is. We know what is human rights. We know that China is our country. But it is not democratising. That is why we want to protect Hong Kong.”