(Hong Kong) “Can someone tell me why national security matters? asks Kan, a retired teacher now a volunteer, to a slew of students at the first patriotic education center in Hong Kong.
Posted at 7:39
“Without national security, humankind cannot live well,” replies a student at this center, which aims to teach young minds about the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
“Very good,” approves Kan, who only gave his nickname to AFP. “People can’t live well, nor can pandas.”
The television is surrounded by a dozen panda stuffed animals with which the pupils will be allowed to play, provided that they listen carefully to what is said on the screen.
A short film explains to them what a crime against national security is and the bad examples not to follow.
The schoolchildren, around forty, are part of the Pui Kiu College and are among the first visitors to this center dedicated to patriotic education.
Capitol Assault
Students learn the contours of the new national security law imposed by Beijing in response to the huge pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019. They also work on the history and achievements of China.
It is in its image that the Communist Party reshapes the city where, for a long time, dissidence and political pluralism have been tolerated.
Professors have been ordered to instill patriotism and abide by the national security law imposed in 2020 by Beijing to stifle dissent.
The priority, Kan told AFP, is to teach students enrolled in the center the four new offenses introduced into the Hong Kong legal system through this draconian law: secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism. .
As she addresses the children, images of former US President Donald Trump and the storming of the Capitol scroll past her. These are bad examples not to be followed and the images serve to illustrate the crime of subversion: the act of trying to overthrow or undermine the government.
For the offense of “collusion with foreign forces”, she uses the example of the press magnate Jimmy Lai, boss of the now closed tabloid Apple Daily.
He is accused of campaigning for the imposition of international sanctions against Hong Kong.
Finally, the volunteer teacher mentions when pro-democracy protesters broke into the city’s legislative council in 2019.
“What crime was committed by children who seemed to have lost their minds in the Legislative Council? she says to the students.
“Terrorism”, answer some. “They didn’t set people on fire or kill people,” Kan corrects, before saying that this was rather subversion.
The center is run by the largest pro-Beijing teachers’ union and its premises are in a former school.
“Turnaround”
Until recently, teachers in Hong Kong were allowed to join a pro-democracy union, but it was forced to disband with the crackdown.
The 2019 protests came after years of growing demands from a section of locals for a say in Hong Kong politics.
But leaders in Beijing and the city have dismissed those claims and described the move as a plot by foreign forces to destabilize China.
Chief Executive John Lee, a former security chief who played a key role in suppressing the pro-democracy movement, participated in the center’s inauguration ceremony in July.
“In the past, some ill-intentioned people […] soiled national education for a long time,” he said at the time.
“I fully believe that the center will become […] a field of learning that will nurture a new generation of young people who love China and Hong Kong. »
As for Kan, who used to participate in annual vigils in memory of students killed by Chinese troops in Tiananmen, she told AFP “a great change has taken place” in her mind since the demonstrations. .
“When I saw on TV how violent it was getting (in 2019), I flip-flopped,” she explains.
“I regret having started to love my country so late,” she breathes, her eyes filling with tears.