National security education in Hong Kong about nurturing positive values and sense of Chinese identity, not reciting laws, teachers told

About 1,600 educators attend first talk delivered by member of government’s steering committee on the subject

But some participants say they gained little understanding about how to change their approach in the classroom to avoid running afoul of new law

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The Chinese and Hong Kong flags. The national security law requires the government to promote national security education at schools and universities. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:24am, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 2:23am, 17 Nov 2020

National security education in Hong Kong schools should not be aimed at making students recite laws but rather helping them nurture positive values and their Chinese identity, a legal expert told educators on Monday at the first government-run seminar for teachers on the legislation.

The talk was delivered by Simon Lee Hoey, a member of the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee focused on the city’s mini-constitution and attended by about 1,500 teachers online and another 100 in person, according to the Education Bureau.

Participation in the closed-door seminar, titled “National security and our daily lives” and which ran for two and a half hours, was voluntary.

It was the bureau’s first one to explain the national security law to teachers, and one of the electives under a 30-hour mandatory training scheme on professional conduct and national development being rolled out this year.

The national security law, which came into effect on June 30, targets acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. It also requires the government to promote national security education at schools and universities.