Rejecting Chinese Communist brainwashing in Hong Kong

There are plenty of reasons why people in Hong Kong are worried

Raymond Cheng

This chronicle is an extension from Rebecca Ong's opinion letter: "Patriotism has no place in classroom," dated August 1, 2012.

Thousands of anti-national education protesters occupying the government headquarters on September 3, 2012. Photo courtesy of Anthony Chow.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched the busy streets of Hong Kong in late July protesting the government's introduction of Beijing-biased patriotic national education (see below for reasons). The government, however, maintains its plan for such curriculum to be made compulsory in 2015 in all elementary schools though senior officials claimed that they were not forcibly pushing the program ahead. Thousands of students (8000 reported by organizer as of September 3, 2012; police says 6500; photo above), all wearing black, gathered at the government headquarters daily since September 3, 2012 to express support for 11 marathon hunger strikers, trying a very last time to change the government's evil plan to please the Beijing authorities.

The following chronicle is meant to provide readers with reference information and background readings as to why the issue has taken up so much heat in the local communities of Hong Kong.

RELATED INFORMATION FOR READERS Raymond Cheng

    IN THE NEWS – FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2012

• Hong Kong frets over "China Model" patriotic education - in which the Chinese ruling party is portrayed as "progressive, altruistic and united" and that the U.S. political system has "created social turbulence and is harmful to people's livelihood"; officials say the introduction of national education helps build "national harmony, identity and unity among individuals" - Reuters (2012/07/11)
• Tens of thousands protest 'patriotic' education in Hong Kong - tens of thousands fear will lead to the brainwashing of children with Communist propaganda - VOA News (2012/07/29)
• Chinese 'patriotic' education draws protesters in Hong Kong - CUHK Adjunct Professor Willy Lam: "one textbook explains how the Communist Party is a progressive, united and effective ruler, comparing it with the U.S. where a two-party system leads to eternal debates and gridlock" plus "no mentioning of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) or the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989" - BusinessWeek (2012/07/29)
• Thousands protest China's plans for Hong Kong schools - the curriculum is similar to the so-called patriotic education taught in mainland China in which the Chinese Communist Party is described as "progressive, selfless and united" and the U.S. multiparty systems criticized - New York Times (2012/07/30)
• Patriotic education stirs protest - Global Times (2012/07/30)
• Indoctrination in Hong Kong - Mom taken aback when kid asked to see the flag-raising ceremony in Beijing - indoctrination of patriotism is coming a bit too early - New York Times (2012/08/02)
• Photos of Hong Kong's anti-national education protest - Danwei (2012/08/04)
• Thousands rally in Hong Kong against nationalized education - Chinese Communist-style national education stifles independent thinking - Seattle Times (2012/09/01)
• Pink Floyd tops bill in China's education farce - it is risking the little remaining credibility China has with many in Hong Kong, just as it did 10 years ago with a notorious anti-subversion law known as Article 23 - Bloomberg (2012/09/10)

    DOZENS OF REASONS TO BE SCARED

• Local pro-Beijing legislators, including the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, have either directly or indirectly rejected or fail to show support for the inclusion of the following major controversies in the proposed curriculum for national education.
  1. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) - a decade of riots which led to the death of some 500,000 and brought China's economic and education systems to a virtual halt, leaving illiteracy rates in some provinces to as high as 41% even some 20 years after the revolution; countless historical relics, artifacts, antiques, books, and paintings were destroyed by the Red Guards; status of traditional Chinese culture severely damaged, etc.
  2. Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 4th) 1989 - in which the Chinese government was widely condemned for the use of force against students protesting peacefully; hundreds killed or ran over by tanks yet still officially denied by Beijing as of today.
  3. Issues that cause embarrassment for the ruling party in Beijing, for instance, human rights issue (few in China knows who Liu Xiao-bo, the winner of the 2010 Nobel peace prize, is), melamine milk powder scandal, poisonous food, unethical policies, locking up dissidents in mental hospitals or prisons, quality issues with public works, unfair trials, prison and child labor, human organ trafficking, corrupted bureaucrats, forced abortions, forced disappearances, forced suicides (forced this, forced that, and the list goes on forever)
• Even for other less controversial topics, Chinese Communist-style national education has a record of focusing on unbalanced arguments (biased favourably toward the ruling party).
  1. For instance, material on the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (aka Yangtze River Dam) focuses mainly on the blessings of the CCP and its contribution to the Chinese people; ecological, environmental, cultural (e.g. flooding of historical relics), forced eviction or displacement of people, or any other social ethical issues are often breezed through briefly, if not totally ignored (source: HK Cable TV news interview).
  2. Colonialism is simply skipped. Success of Hong Kong as a colony under 150 years of capitalistic British rule is lightly touched, if at all. Rumour has it that even the former British embassy building in Shanghai was demolished overnight just to make sure "the shameful past of China (during the early 1900s) got cleanly wiped from the history of China."
  3. Republic of China, often known simply as Taiwan (controlled by the Nationalists), is out of discussion as well. Taiwan is only mentioned as a province of China with no mentioning of its self-elected president, Ma Ying-jeou, as well as its government, let alone Taiwan's path toward a democractic society.
  4. While China's constitution says that it explicitly allows "freedom of religious belief," its practice has actually been seriously questioned. Advocating Vatican's right to appoint bishops, pledging allegiance to any foreign figure, including the Pope, is considered rebellious, if not treason. Tight religious control in the province of Xinjiang, crackdown against Falun Gong adherents, faith-related violence, the Dalai Lama, Tibetan's government-in-exile, and even Tibet's 'Snow Lion flag' are all subjects of taboo. It is even said that the CCP has launched similar patriotic education campaigns in order to shape new generations of Tibetan Buddhists to give up on their religion's secular power, turning traditional Tibetan Buddhism into some kind of a state-sanctioned sect – an obvious cause for the CCP to force (oh yes, force again) the Dalai Lama on his path of exile.
  5. By the way, according to the Chinese Communist-style national education, Mao ze-dong, the late CCP leader, has (miraculously) done absolutely nothing wrong in his entire life. Alexander Pope's words, "To err is human; to forgive, divine", simply does not apply to any of Mao's deeds in his lifetime. The CCP, supposingly made up of a group of atheists, surprisingly, dare not say anything about Mao's forgiving, if any at all.
• Given all these restrictions on the content as well as the many strings of terror attached to such kind of Chinese-style patriotic national education, people of Hong Kong share basically zero confidence in this type of less-than-wonderful education, particularly when they have seen those who had been taught this way act to either show their patriotism or air their grievances in less than civilized manners. Check the facts and you'll see how "harmonious" they are.
  1. In the "Aftermath of the Chinese Embassy bombing" - protesters threw rocks, paint, and eggs at the American embassy, while Ambassador James Sasser and other diplomatic personnel were trapped inside and at one point were burning documents fearing demonstrators would break in - PBS (1999/05/10)
  2. Ethnic riots: China locks down western province after ethnic riots kill 140 - fighting between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese on streets of Urumqi leaving over 800 injured - Guardian (2009/07/06)
  3. Even after losing a fair game: Chinese riot after Japan win final (in Asian Cup 2004) - set fire to Japanese flags, threw bottles and hurled abuse before riot police made their move; Chinese soccer fans are not very civilized, giving very bad impression to people around the world - CNN (2004/08/08)
  4. Not to mention those "Mass protests in China point to sharp social tensions" - from protests to road blocking and riots; over official corruption, social inequality and the destruction of jobs - World Socialist Website (2004/11/01)
  5. Or anti-Japanese demonstrations in 2005: Behind China's anti-Japan riots - rock-throwing, window-smashing, attack diplomatic offices, Japanese electronics shops, Japanese restaurants (ironically, mostly owned by the Chinese), exchange students, anything and anyone associated with Japan - article by Gary Leupp, Monitor.net, dated April 22, 2005.
  6. And most recently: Why China resents Japan, and the US - overturning Toyotas, smashing windows; the rage of China's crowds lies in China's nationalist (or so-called patriotic) ideology; the "Godless" atheistic Chinese Communist Party uses its educational and propaganda systems to socialize (i.e. brainwash) citizens into a particular understanding of history, see also the chronicle on "Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands dispute between Japan and China", Maoist triumphalism has been eclipsed since the mid-1990s by a new "victim narrative" about Chinese suffering - New York Times (2012/08/24)

Full of unheard voices on post-its from protesters. Photo courtesy of Helena Yau.

    GOVERNMENT EVENTUALLY BACKED DOWN

• People's opinion is effective agent for change in Hong Kong - protesters have forced a backdown of the 'Moral and National Education' policy - Canberra Times (2012/09/25)
• Hong Kong: National education scrapped but tensions continue (translation) - after rigorous citizen protests, including hunger strikes, the newly anoited Hong Kong chief scrapped the mandatory three-year deadline for the implementation of the curriculum and let the schools make their own decisions - Global Voices (2012/10/02)

    RELATED READINGS ON PATRIOTISM

• Patriotic and civic education - The index of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) has no entries for country, nation, nationalism, patriotism or race - Sunday Examiner, published by the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church of Hong Kong (2011/10/27)
• "Patriotism and education" by John Spiri (in Dissident Voice, 2009) – discusses patriotism, identity, loyalty to national government and its historical connection with education and indoctrination
• "Rising Japanese right calls the tune: Hoisting the Hinomaru" by David McNeill (in the Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus) – resurgence in nationalism in Japan: the playing of the anthem and the flying of the Hinomaru (the Rising Sun "military" flag) have become compulsory at Japanese school ceremonies since 1999
• Pledge of allegiance in the U.S. and its criticisms - Wikipedia
• Surprising Socialist, Capitalist, and Masonic Roots of the Pledge of Allegiance - 120 years ago today, Sept. 8, 1892, The Pledge of Allegiance was first published in Youth's Companion, a family magazine that has been called, "the Reader's Digest of its day" - OpEd News (2012/09/08)
• "The stubborn myth of 'rising patriotism' in modern China?" by Neil J. Diamant (2007) – An EAI Working paper on veterans and the failure of martial citizenship in China
• "The myth of Palestinian nationalism" (at Eretzyisroel.org) by Joan Peters (1984), Joseph Katz (2001) – discusses how, in Palestine Arab, nationalism is narrowly and inextricably interwovern with antagonism to the Jews

    FAMOUS QUOTES

• "Born in iniquity and conceived in sin, nationalism has never ceased to bring humanity dissension and distress." -Thorstein Veblin
• "Patriotism is flag-cheering national self-assertion with no constructive duties." -H.G. Wells
• "Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy." -Bernard Shaw
• "Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons." -Bertrand Russell
• "Nationalism is an infantile disease." -Albert Einstein

    MISCELLANEOUS LINKS

• For more Chinese riots, see factsanddetails.com and canyu.org (content in Chinese). See also Wikipedia on mind control on how the Chinese Communists managed to transform individuals with a reactionary imperialist mindset into "right-thinking" members of the new Chinese social system.
• China's mass brainwashing for the modern age (on Falun Gong) - everything is metered: "transformation" rates, "recidivism" rates, and even things called "responsibility agreements" that local businesses are forced to sign - The Epoch Times (2011/03/25) - see also Epoch Times: Eye on China: Politics, society, economy by Matthew Robertson
• Amnesty: China forced evictions in 'significant rise' - "gross violation of human rights" as local officials sell off land to property developers - BBC (2012/10/11)
• Contrast this: China's Mo Yan wins Nobel 2012 (for literature) for "hallucinatory realism" - combining "hallucinatory realism" with folk tales, history and contemporary life in China - Reuters (2012/10/11)
  - people on the street says, "So a Chinese getting the Nobel prize for literature will increase the national pride." - yes contrast this with Liu Xiao-bo's Nobel 2010 for peace
• How did Mo Yan win China's first Nobel Prize in literature? - sounds like a winner: the country faces a yawning gap between the rich and the poor, worsening environment pollution and an aging population - Xinhua News (2012/10/12) - how about telling the Chinese people the truth that he's really not the first?
  1. Nobel winner Mo urges China dissident's freedom - Mo expressed hope that the imprisoned Chinese winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2010 will be freed, putting a dent in the ruling Communist Party's attempts to burnish its credentials with the latest prize - USA Today (2012/10/12)
  2. Meanwhile, in Taiwan: "Minister praises China's Nobel-winning Mo Yan for avoiding persecution with humor" - some say Mo is known for challenging the status quo without offending the authorities - Fox News (2012/10/12)

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR Raymond Cheng, PhD DPA FRSA, is the founder and chief editor of Commentary.com. He is an adjunct professor in international business and in marketing, an independent policy analyst as well as a language and cultural briefing consultant. Email Raymond at raymond {dot} cheng {at} kellogg {dot} oxon {dot} org

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