The government would be foolhardy to 'steamroll ahead' with its plan to start teaching national education this year because the issue might blow up in its face, a leading Basic Law specialist and mainland adviser warned.
Basic Law Institute chairman Alan Hoo SC, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the introduction of the subject should be suspended for a year as the course's content needed a thorough rethink.
'It would be foolhardy if the administration continued to steamroll ahead with their current strategy,' Hoo said.
The government wants schools to start teaching the subject voluntarily this year before it becomes compulsory in primary schools in 2015 and secondary schools in 2016. The government believes the subject will instil national pride in students, but critics say it gives a one-sided view of the Chinese political system.
Hoo, who said he spoke on behalf of the institute rather than as a CPPCC member because the Basic Law defined the relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing, said the plan was being used as a political issue that could cost the government votes in next month's Legislative Council election. A crowd estimated at up to 90,000 took to the streets last Sunday in protest at the plans.
The present plans were 'allowing and encouraging the subject to descend into the political arena', Hoo said. He dismissed a government proposal for a committee to examine how the subject would be taught, saying a body established 'just to appease people will not work' .
'You need to have a new conceptual review before you talk about implementation. It's not complicated science,' he said.