Hong Kong cartoon depicting US invasion by gun-toting Mickey Mouse and evil Ronald McDonald in textbook for overhauled liberal studies subject sparks row
- Publisher Marshall Cavendish Education says books are just ‘transitional teaching materials’
- Political cartoon part of chapter discussing impact of Western influence on local markets
A row has broken out over an image in new teaching materials to be used in Hong Kong’s schools that depicts Mickey Mouse and Goofy lookalikes in military uniforms, fighter planes dropping hamburgers instead of bombs, and evil versions of McDonald’s characters Ronald McDonald and Grimace.
The political cartoon, depicting a “cultural invasion” by US multinational firms, appears in the first set of books under a controversial planned overhaul of the liberal studies subject.
On Thursday, publisher Marshall Cavendish Education responded to the criticism and told the Post the books were “transitional teaching materials” mainly for teachers’ reference, and might be updated after consulting educators.
The textbooks for the new senior secondary subject have also come into the spotlight also because they retained sensitive concepts including civil disobedience, which some educators feared might break the national security law which came into effect last June.
Liberal studies was first introduced in 2009 as a mandatory course aimed at raising social awareness and developing critical thinking skills among students. But in recent years, pro-Beijing politicians have accused the subject of leading to the radicalisation of youth during the 2019 anti-government protests.