Hong Kong’s chief secretary has compared patriotic education to dating a woman, saying that getting to know and understand a partner is essential to fall in love with them.
Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme on Saturday, the city’s number two leader Eric Chan said the government would not “hard sell” patriotic education because loving a country or a person must “come from the heart.”
“Simply put, it is like young people dating. First, you have to get to know the girlfriend. If you don’t even know them, how can you love them?” he said in Cantonese.
“Then, you get married… you will love them and protect their all,” Chan added. “Patriotic education is exactly the same.”
The chief secretary made the comments while discussing the city’s ongoing efforts to promote patriotic education. He referred to the government’s Working Group on Patriotic Education, which was set up in April to enable the “spirit of patriotism to take root in society,” according to a press release.
Chan said the group was led by lawmaker and chairperson of pro-Beijing party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong Starry Lee. Lee was experienced and had a wide network in the community, he said, adding that the group’s work would focus on areas such as school education and media publicity.
With China’s National Day coming up on October 1, all 18 districts will participate in celebrations by holding exhibitions and offering discounts, the chief secretary said.
“[We] hope that while celebrating national day, we can promote patriotic education at the same time,” he said.
Security laws as ‘medicine’
Hong Kong has stepped up efforts to push patriotism since Beijing passed a national security law in June 2020, which came after months of protests and unrest against a controversial amendment to the city’s extradition bill.
Students from kindergarten to university age have seen national education integrated into curricula, while the Education Bureau has called on parents to cooperate and help heighten their children’s sense of national identity.
In the Commercial Radio programme, Chan said many young people who joined the protests in 2019 had “a lot of views” about China even though they had never been to the mainland.
“Their only understanding of [China] is through toxic media,” Chan said.
Besides the Beijing-imposed national security law, Hong Kong recently enacted further security legislation criminalising offences including treason and the theft of state secrets. The law, known colloquially as Article 23, was passed by the city’s opposition-free legislature in March.
The chief secretary described both security laws as “medicine” to be taken when sick, adding that patriotic education was needed to “strengthen [our] resistance and immunity.”
Human rights groups and UN experts have criticised the laws, arguing that they limits fundamental freedoms. The government, however, has maintained that such legislation is needed to counter “anti-China” forces and ensure stability in society.
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