Beijing forces Hong Kong students to take course on national security law

‘The Chinese government sees the uprisings as a result of failing to inculcate the youth of Hong Kong with patriotic values’

HONG KONG university students will have to take a class on China’s national security law introduced to crack down on pro-democracy protests before they can graduate, in the latest sign of Beijing’s creeping influence over the city.

From September, all eight universities in Hong Kong, which are funded by the University Grant Committee, an advisory group appointed by the regional authorities, will run compulsory courses on the Beijing-imposed National Security Law. Some of the schools launched the courses last year.

The law criminalises subversion, succession, colluding with foreign forces and terrorist activities. It was introduced in 2020 following prodemocracy protests and has since been used to crack down on everyone from journalists to activists and the political opposition.

At Hong Kong University, the city’s most prestigious higher education institution, the new course will be conducted online and will not earn pupils academic credits.

Eric Yan-ho Lai, research fellow at Georgetown University’s Centre for Asian Law, said the national security classes are the latest instalment of China’s “Red Education” efforts.

“The Chinese government sees the democratic uprisings in Hong Kong as a result of failing to inculcate the youth of Hong Kong with patriotic values,” Mr Lai said.

College students are probably too sophisticated to be swayed by the classes, he said, but added that the cumulative effect of ideological education, starting at a young age, could effectively brainwash young Hong Kongers.

Hong Kong’s Education Bureau, in collaboration with the Security Bureau, will give picture books to kindergartens, primary and secondary schools in the city to “raise the sense of national security”, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.

Each April, as part of National Security Education Day, students as young as three already participate in a variety of activities that reinforce Beijing’s message.

Younger children are given national security-themed puzzles, while older children participate in quizzes and poster design activities.