Eliminate political poison from HK classrooms: China Daily editorial

The release of the curriculum and assessment guide for the new subject Citizenship and Social Development, by the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region marks a key step forward for education in the SAR. The new course will help foster a healthier sense of identity among its youth and give them a more accurate view of the world and history.

The reform of Liberal Studies, one of the measures to optimize the four senior secondary core subjects, will ensure that the young generation in Hong Kong have a clearer understanding of Hong Kong's identity as a special administrative region of China and its relationship with the motherland and the world through teaching on the themes of "Hong Kong under 'one country, two systems'", "Our country since the reform and opening-up policy", and the "Interconnectedness of the contemporary world".

While it adheres to the rationale and aims of the existing Liberal Studies curriculum, it eliminates the space for political speculation in the teaching of the course. It will cultivate a new generation with a proper grasp of the history of the nation and Hong Kong and help foster an international perspective rather than the blinkered worldview many young people in Hong Kong display today.

The rioting that wracked Hong Kong showed that rather than being a diversified and enlightened general education course, Liberal Studies had become a tool for those wanting to "brainwash" students with anti-mainland sentiments.

The first step to destroying a nation is to destroy its history. Via distorted textbooks and teaching, a mentality of blindly worshipping the West and hating the mainland was planted in the hearts and minds of impressionable young learners. This has brought turmoil and trouble to Hong Kong, as some of its youth have a very weak awareness of the rule of law.

The new curriculum and assessment guide will repair the damage that has been done by the poisoned teaching of Liberal Studies by helping young people in Hong Kong have a truer sense of both their own identity and that of Hong Kong, by fostering a comprehensive understanding of the motherland's history, culture, national conditions and development journey.

The fruits of this reform now need to be safeguarded by strengthening the training, assessment and supervision of those that teach the course. That will further shrink the space for the motherland-haters in Hong Kong to spread their poison and incite violence, something they had been doing for too long.