Debate over whether Hong Kong was indeed British colony reflects lack of education on Chinese constitution, lawmakers say
- Pro-Beijing legislators say some residents have misunderstandings about history due to lack of education about Basic Law and nation’s constitution
- Lawmaker Lai Tung-kwok of the New People’s Party argues new Basic Law test for educators too easy
The government should bolster education on the Chinese constitution in the wake of a controversy over whether Hong Kong was a British colony, lawmakers have said.
They also criticised a new Basic Law test for teachers, saying it was “too easy” and that even those who passed it might not have a solid grasp of the city’s mini-constitution.
Members of the Legislative Council’s constitutional affairs panel were briefed by officials on Monday on the government’s work to promote the constitution and the Basic Law.
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong said the lack of education on the constitution was to blame for the recent row over the city’s pre-handover status.
“Many overseas media made use of this to smear the Hong Kong government,” said Leung, who also sits on the Basic Law Committee under the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body. “But that Hong Kong was not a colony is not a new theory. A United Nations resolution in 1972 had effectively removed Hong Kong from the list of colonies.
“The reason why there are misunderstandings [among some Hong Kong people] is because we lack constitution education, both in our national education and Basic Law education. It is important to let people understand that the constitution is the root of the Basic Law and also the constitutional foundation of ‘one country, two systems’.”
Tang Fei, fellow lawmaker and vice-chairman of the Federation of Education Workers, also took aim at the government for failing to respond immediately when the media tried to “make a fuss” over the issue.
At the centre of the controversy is the statement in new secondary school textbooks that the city was not a British colony, but an occupied territory, as the Chinese government did not recognise the unequal treaties that ceded Hong Kong to Britain in the 19th century.