This paper provides an overview of the considerable turmoil that erupted in Hong Kong following attempts to impose a form of national education in schools. From mid July to September 2012, mass gatherings and street demonstrations occurred in Hong Kong in response to the decision by the government to introduce a compulsory school subject titled Moral and National Education. A teaching kit titled the 'China Model National Conditions Teaching Manuel' prompted a public outcry for its approach to embedding a particular version of national identity and citizenship in the curriculum which was considered by many citizens in Hong Kong to be extremely biased. Parents and students in Hong Kong were alarmed when they discovered that many supporting teaching materials, suggested teaching plans, and even organised visits to the Mainland were biased, aiming only at presenting a positive picture of China to the students. This approach to developing a national identity was regarded by many protestors as not representative of the freedom of opinion and association that citizens in Hong Kong regarded as essential for citizenship and as part of understanding their rights in China under 'One Country, Two Systems'. The introduction of this program led to debates about the nature and purposes of civics and citizenship education and whether efforts to secure a national approach to education are in fact a form of indoctrination. This paper outlines the context for these questions about embedding a form of national identity and citizenship in the curriculum in Hong Kong and discusses the purposes of civic education. It concludes that students should have access to effective civics and citizenship education that allows them to develop their own sense of identity and opinions about their community as 'critical patriots'.
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The paper reports a study on the political socialisation of a patriotic (left wing /pro-Beijing) school in Hong Kong. Well before the lowering of the Union Jack on 1 July 1997, there had been a number of leftist secondary schools, which maintained very close relationship with mainland China and rendered habitual support to Beijing government. These patriotic schools have been relatively very political in nature, as compared with the political tone that featured other schools. The researcher has been allowed to conduct a qualitative research study in one of the patriotic schools. Beside consulting the written documents and archives of the school, detailed interviews have been conducted with the following parties, namely teachers, students, the principal, the supervisor, past students and parents, so as to know the kind of political socialisation the students received in the school. The paper aims at exploring how students in the school will learn their political knowledge particularly the understanding of political affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the People's Republic of China.