Authorities need to step up patriotic education and cultural exchanges with mainland China so young Hongkongers can ditch separatism and embrace regional integration, according to Hong Kong’s advisers to Beijing. The pro-Beijing politicians also called for more academic cooperation and new initiatives to push Beijing’s “Greater Bay Area” project, which aims to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into an innovation and finance powerhouse to rival Silicon Valley by 2035. The local delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation’s top political advisory body, were speaking several hours before meeting Vice-Premier Han Zheng. On Sunday, CPPCC chairman Wang Yang, China’s No 4 official, reiterated Beijing’s opposition to Hong Kong independence in his annual work report at the opening of the body’s annual session. Wang also said the CPPCC would continue to facilitate exchanges between young people from Hong Kong and the mainland, so that they could make policy recommendations on implementing the Greater Bay Area blueprint. In a meeting on Monday, CPPCC delegate George Lung Chee-ming described young Hongkongers who support the city’s independence as sick. “A small minority of young people do not recognise their country, and are affected by ‘Hong Kong independence’ because they are sick, and patriotic education is a good cure for such sickness,” Lung said. “Delegates like us should combine patriotic education with helping them to integrate into the bay area plan and realise their dreams.” The Hong Kong National Party was a threat to national security Lung believed that when young people see the opportunities offered by the bay area project, they would have a stronger sense of national identity. Fellow delegate and businessman Irons Sze Wing-wai also underlined the importance of patriotic education and cultural exchanges to young people. “I think Hong Kong primary and secondary schools should teach their pupils more about Chinese history and culture. Mainland exchanges are so urgent now because schools are not doing enough,” he said. Delegate and Hong Kong legislator Starry Lee Wai-king, who chairs the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said some young Hongkongers’ negative impression of the mainland has been influenced by politicians’ remarks in the past. “It should be made easier for Hong Kong people to open mainland bank accounts … There should also be communities of Hongkongers established in Guangdong province so that living in Guangdong is like living in Hong Kong,” Lee said. Authorities should encourage young people to visit the mainland, she added. Legislator creates way to report ‘patriotic content’ in Hong Kong schools But another delegate, Tai Hay-lap, a Hong Kong educator, said: “I very much agree that more experiential learning should be organised. But instead of just visits and sightseeing … there should be tours to study how the country has been tackling poverty. These would really help young people to understand China’s development.” Polytechnic University president Timothy Tong Wai-cheung, a CPPCC delegate, said that while there had been plenty of exchanges between undergraduate students in Hong Kong and the mainland, more needed to be done for postgraduate students, to help the Greater Bay Area project succeed.