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LettersHong Kong protests: don’t blame liberal studies, a free internet fuels mistrust of China
- With information easily available online, why blame liberal studies and its teachers for youngsters taking to the streets, given that the Education Bureau conducts regular inspections?
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As a secondary student who has spent more than five years on liberal studies, I feel rather upset by Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s remarks that the education sector has become a “chicken coop without a door”.
Critics have claimed the subject incites violence among school-aged protesters. Is that really the case? Many of my friends have participated in protests or have an anti-government stance, but none of them have said that their political participation is directly related to what was taught in school.
At first, they took to the streets chiefly because of the arrogance and intransigence of the government, and later against the perceived excessive use of force by the police and Beijing’s tightening grip on the city, definitely not because our teachers ever told us “protests are good”.
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Some also say teachers talk too much about politics in liberal studies lessons. This is simply not true. The curriculum consists of six modules with a dozen themes, in which only three themes – “rule of law and sociopolitical participation”, “identity”, and parts of “China’s reform and opening-up” – are closely related to politics.
In this tense political climate, some schools, including mine, are adjusting their teaching schedules to avoid politically sensitive topics. I disagree with this approach, as I believe politics and current affairs are a part of everyday life. Nevertheless, politics has never been a major part of the curriculum and, on occasions when political issues are mentioned, teachers generally present facts and opinions from both sides of the argument.
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It is naive to think students only learn at school. Students can freely search online for information on any topic, ranging from the horrifying Yuen Long mob attack to China’s human rights violations. The free flow of information plays a more essential role in shaping mistrust of China among Hong Kong’s younger generation, but would the government dare to heavily censor the internet?
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