New textbooks despatched to Hong Kong secondary faculties train that town was not a British colony, however an occupied territory — a recasting of historical past that’s a part of Beijing’s ideological clampdown within the metropolis.
The textbooks search to move off requires self-determination within the metropolis following a wave of anti-government protests in 2019, through which some contributors known as for independence.
“Even [though] Britain occupied Hong Kong . . . the Chinese language Authorities didn’t recognise such unequal treaties and insisted [on] her sovereignty over Hong Kong,” reads one “exemplar reply” in a textbook launched by Trendy Academic Analysis Society, a Hong Kong writer.
“Subsequently, Hong Kong didn’t fulfill the situation of ‘a rustic shedding sovereignty’ and was not a colony,” the textbook reads.
Not less than 5 textbooks despatched to Hong Kong secondary faculties for pre-publication evaluate stress that the present Chinese language authorities by no means recognised the historic treaties that ceded the territory to the UK.
A number of add that the UN’s removing of Hong Kong from its checklist of non-self-governing territories in 1972 meant that the worldwide physique’s help for decision on self-rule in colonised locations was not relevant to town.
“This exhibits that worldwide legislation confirms that the Hong Kong situation is throughout the scope of China’s sovereign rights,” reads one Chinese language-language textbook from Hong Kong-based Aristo Academic Press.
The books had been despatched to colleges as a part of town’s new “citizenship and social growth” course, which final yr changed a liberal research programme that Beijing loyalists blamed for radicalising college students to participate in anti-government protests in 2019.
Hong Kong authorities have been intensifying strain on faculties to take a Chinese language nationalist line, a drive that final yr prompted town’s largest lecturers’ union to disband.
Britain occupied Hong Kong in 1841 in the course of the first opium conflict and China’s ruling Qing Dynasty ceded the island the next yr. Aside from a interval of Japanese occupation in the course of the second world conflict, Britain administered town as a colony and dependent territory till 1997, when it was handed over to the Folks’s Republic of China.
The Aristo guide stated Hong Kong was tied to China by advantage of “racial ties”, “cultural heritage”, “language system” and “garrisons”, in addition to by financial and political jurisdiction.
The 5 books are a part of a listing of seven texts that faculties will select from to make use of in educating the brand new course. They’ve been vetted by town’s Training Bureau, and are anticipated to be in use for senior secondary faculty college students from September.
The textbooks additionally repeat Beijing’s characterisation of the pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019 as violent riots stoked by “exterior forces”.
Chan Chi-wa, a secondary faculty trainer for greater than three many years, stated that earlier than 2019, textbooks hardly ever touched on the notion that town was not a colony, however this viewpoint had been relayed to lecturers since final yr at seminars held by the training authorities.
“Probably the most troublesome half for lecturers is to elucidate to college students why when [Hong Kong] was seen by many as a colony, it now not is the case now,” stated Chan.
Aristo Academic Press, Trendy Academic Analysis Society and Marshall Cavendish Training, which launched one of many books, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Hong Kong Academic Publishing Firm, which launched two books, and the Hong Kong Training Bureau declined to touch upon the textbooks’ contents.
