Commnentary
Weeks ago, my Education Bureau friend told me there would be a very interesting Hong Kong Legislative Council report about support measures for national security education. The report was finally released on Oct. 25, and I could not wait to see what it said.
The 20-page report was exhaustive on what was accomplished last year and the way ahead for the coming academic year. My first impression was that the national security law in Hong Kong has turned out something like the “backyard furnace campaign” in which scrap iron was used to make unusable steel in mainland China in the 1950s, and in which everyone had to participate. The report stresses that all Hong Kong residents are obligated to abide by the law, which aims to prevent, suppress, and punish acts and activities that endanger national security. The role of school education focuses on prevention so that it helps reduce the need for suppression and punishment in the future. As a result, national security education becomes the top priority at all levels of education, from kindergarten to university….