MCLC: HK school plan protest

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: HK school plan protest
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (7/29/12):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/asia/thousands-protest-chinas-curri
culum-plans-for-hong-kong-schools.html

Thousands Protest China’s Plans for Hong Kong Schools
By JOYCE LAU

HONG KONG — Thousands of people took to the streets here on Sunday to
protest the introduction of Chinese national education in Hong Kong
schools, a day after the city’s education minister warned that such
demonstrations would not stop or delay the process.

Victoria Park, the traditional starting point for the city’s frequent
protests, was a sea of umbrellas as parents shielded their children from
the sun. There have been at least two demonstrations since June: Hong
Kong’s annual vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings
in Beijing, and a protest on the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s transfer
from British control to Chinese rule. That protest coincided with the
swearing-in of Hong Kong’s new Beijing-backed leader, Leung Chun-ying, on
July 1.

The protesters on Sunday, including many young families, blocked off parts
of the Causeway Bay commercial area as they inched toward the new
government headquarters in the city center. Many felt the changes had been
rushed through without public consultation.

Organizers told Hong Kong’s public broadcaster, RTHK, that 90,000 turned
out, but the police put the figure at 32,000.

The new curriculum is similar to the so-called patriotic education taught
in mainland China. The materials, including a handbook titled “The China
Model,” describe the Communist Party as “progressive, selfless and united”
and criticize multiparty systems, even though Hong Kong has multiple
political parties.

Critics liken the curriculum to brainwashing and say that it glosses over
major events like the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square
crackdown. It will be introduced in some elementary schools in September
and be mandatory for all public schools by 2016.

Talks between the education minister, Eddie Ng, and the National Education
Parents’ Concern Group broke down on Saturday. Mr. Ng later denied that
the curriculum was akin to brainwashing.

One demonstrator, Elaine Yau, who was there with her 7-year-old daughter,
said that people wanted a say in what was taught in the schools. “We feel
like we have no choice,” she said.

One point of contention is that many of the city’s governing elite send
their children to the West or to expensive foreign-run international
schools, which will be exempt from the national education. The curriculum
will be mandatory for the public schools used by most of the working and
middle classes.

“Not everyone can afford to send their children overseas or to
international school,” Ms. Yau added.

Another demonstrator, Claudia Yip, a law student at the Chinese University
of Hong Kong, held up a banner for the teachers’ union. “Young children
really listen to and believe what their teachers say to them,” she said.
“Their early role models affect them greatly. Some people say we must have
national education, but what kind do we need?”

Before the protest, Jiang Yudui of the pro-Beijing China Civic Education
Promotion Association of Hong Kong added fuel to the fire when he told
Hong Kong’s residents that the curriculum should “wash their brains.”
“A brain needs washing if there is a problem, just as clothes need washing
if they’re dirty, and a kidney needs washing if it’s sick,” he said,
according to the local news media.

In response, protesters waved flags showing a cartoon brain with a line
crossed through it. “No thought control! Preserve one country, two
systems!” they chanted, referring to the agreement that gives Hong Kong
political rights that are not allowed on the mainland.