When it emerged that a draft patriotic education law was submitted to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee for first review last week, it caused a stir in Hong Kong. That is understandable since the draft says the country will adopt measures to strengthen awareness of China’s history and traditional culture among those in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to safeguard national unity.
First is the practical question of how this piece of national legislation, should it pass, will be applied in Hong Kong. Would it be added to the list of national laws to be applied in Hong Kong in Annex III of the Basic Law? If so, will we be required to adopt it through local legislation, or will it just be applied in Hong Kong automatically like the Beijing-decreed national security law in 2020?
Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the NPC Standing Committee, said she understood that the bill will not be added to Annex III, meaning Hong Kong would not be constitutionally bound to enact local legislation on patriotic education. Perhaps more significant is that Lee’s words suggested a softening of Beijing’s stance towards Hong Kong as it allows the city more leeway to implement national policies. Restored trust will go a long way towards ensuring the future of “one country, two systems”.
Legal obligations aside, Hong Kong will need to adopt and promote patriotic education by other means, most likely through schools as that is the most effective way of reaching young people and their families. Given that Xu Anbiao, deputy head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, says the draft calls for “schools and families to provide stronger education for children and teenagers”, it sounds like schools will do the bulk of the work.
Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong’s sole representative in the NPC Standing Committee, said it was her understanding that Hong Kong would not be constitutionally bound to legislate on patriotic education. Photo: Sam Tsang
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu publicly vowed: “Whether or not the bill is passed, the Hong Kong government will match the central government’s requirement on patriotic education.”
He made a point of highlighting that Hong Kong would be able to meet the requirements of the draft legislation, emphasising that a good deal of work had already been done on that front. Lee’s remarks signal to the central government that there will not be a repeat of the demonstrations in which students, teachers and other protesters turned out against the government’s plans to reform the curriculum to include moral and national education.
“Hong Kong has been doing a lot of work on patriotic education, such as teaching about Chinese history and national security,” Lee said. “We have encouraged young people to visit different mainland cities, understand the country’s policies and facilitate communication between residents of both sides. All the efforts by Hong Kong will adapt very well with patriotic education.”
The message to educators, parents and students is that there is little to worry about. However, Xu also mentioned that patriotic education is meant for “all residents”, meaning this will need to be done outside classrooms as well. How will that be carried out?
Even before the national patriotic education draft bill came to light, local lawmaker Reverend Peter Koon Ho-ming might have helped shed light on how this can be done. In an interview in early June, he floated the idea of displaying the national flag in church during National Day.
Koon was speaking on the how patriotism has been demonised in Hong Kong, especially when it is discussed in the religious context. He suggested churches could display the national flag on October 1 to reflect love for the country.
Reverend Peter Koon Ho-ming (centre) at the second plenary meeting of the National People’s Congress local delegate election at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on December 15, 2022. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Some found Koon’s suggestion controversial, and perhaps even sacrilegious. Others might not have seen it as outlandish. Some churches outside Hong Kong have national flags displayed in their sanctuaries. The practice is common enough, and the debate on whether it should continue remains unresolved.
I doubt the practice of displaying the national flag at places of worship will be required by law in this city. We have come a long way since the days of revolting against anything that involves national education or calling measures that strengthen our awareness of the nation brainwashing, but we still have much distance to travel before we can view matters such as the patriotic education draft law without anxiety.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA
