In a context of patriotic education in Mainland China and depoliticised civic education in colonial Hong Kong, this article inquires into the nature of student resistance to state hegemonic political socialisation and examines the effects of critical thinking, as a form of resistance, on students' patriotism and nationalism. With data from questionnaires completed by 535 Hong Kong and Mainland university students, analyses of relationships among perceptions of political socialisation, critical thinking dispositions, and national attitudes reveal that critical thinking mediates the state-intended effects of schooling on political attitudes. The article concludes with a reconceptualisation of the concept of resistance. [Copyright of British Journal of Sociology of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0142569032000127161]
