Hong Kong was a British colony for a century and a half. Under British rule, the people of Hong Kong enjoyed democratic freedoms. On July 1, 1997, the British relinquished control and Hong Kong became part of China as a special administrative region. The Chinese government promised to maintain “one country, two systems.” Over the years the Chinese government has asserted tighter control, inspiring rebellions among the people of Hong Kong, who resisted absorption into the government of the Mainland. Twenty-three years after the removal of British rule, mainland China is clamping down, hard, to stamp out freedom of speech, freedom of thought, even freedom to teach.
This article in the Los Angeles Times describes the government’s tightening of control over teachers and textbooks. Teachers who dare to speak out have been purged.
One of the greatest threats to freedom in Hong Kong is China’s intensifying pressure on schools over what to put in the minds of students. Textbooks are being rewritten, teachers are being purged and history is being erased under a new national security law to bring this once freewheeling city more firmly into China’s grip…
With China’s tightening control over Hong Kong, including passage of a new national security law, the territory’s pro-democracy activists, politicians, journalists and others are facing a Communist Party determined to crush dissent. Perhaps the greatest threat from this new purge — one that will affect generations to come — is the increasing pressure on schools and teachers over what to put in the minds of students. Both activists and bureaucrats know that a nation’s soul is distilled in the classroom; history can be erased with the silencing of teachers and rewriting of textbooks.
A Hong Kong art teacher who calls himself Vawongsir expresses his thoughts through pro-democracy doodles.
A Hong Kong art teacher going by the name Vawongsir expresses his thoughts through pro-democracy doodles, which he shares online anonymously. He lost his teaching job after a complaint was made to the authorities.(Chan Long Hei / For The Times)
“They are turning education into a tool for controlling thought in Hong Kong,” said Ip Kin-yuen, a pro-democracy lawmaker representing the education sector who is vice president of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union. “There are a lot of cases of teachers being wronged, facing exaggerated accusations. I would describe it as political persecution.”
Hong Kong is being remade before the world. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is capitalizing on his country’s economic power and the planet’s preoccupation with the coronavirus to rein in Hong Kong’s democratic ambitions. Xi wants to subsume this defiant territory into his vision of national unity, even as China faces diplomatic fallout, most notably from the Trump administration, which has drawn closer to a new Cold War with Beijing in a fraught time of high-tech surveillance, shifting supply chains and America’s fallen stature of a global leader.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Informative and interesting thnx to share
The United States is not Hong Kong, however, we are not immune to allowing our school curricula to be influenced by outside interests. In our country the biggest threat to our public schools are billionaires and corporations. Market based privatization totally represents the interest of the 1% as there is no legitimate research that supports this approach as having value to students. Bill Gates bought his way into public education policy and curricula. He backed the Common Core and VAM which are Gates generated initiatives that have no basis in fact. Likewise, the Waltons and Koch Family have been bribing their way into public schools to infuse the curricula with libertarian leaning ideals. Other billionaires like Micheal Bloomberg, Betsy Devos, Eli Broad and Reed Hastings have all used their wealth to insert themselves into public education policy and undermine public schools. Four more years of Trump will signal a green light to billionaires that will put our public schools on the chopping block both ideologically and fiscally.
retired Well-said. The best that can be said of Gates is that he originally thought he could do for education with his money what he did for medicine . . . wipe out some diseases. Kudos to him on that. But if that’s the case then, like so many others, he works under the idea that the science of humans is equivalent to the science of cells. Then he couldn’t help but recognize the market value . . . Sigh . . . . CBK
Right now, with the leadership we have across the United States, I do not see much difference between what China is doing with educating the masses and what the United States is doing. History text books are being rewritten to illuminate all negative truth of what has happened in this country. Most of the civics and history curriculums from generations past have been eliminated or watered down to a point that to be useless. Students no longer learn the basic tenets of democracy, the Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc. Students no longer know the true meaning of “Freedom of Speech”.
As a side note… The Gates Foundation may have given millions to the elimination of polio but it was Rotary International who raised up the volunteers to go into countries to given the vaccines to millions upon millions of children. It is laudable to give money but just as laudable, if not more so, to put the boots on the ground and do the dirty work. Gates gets the credit in the media for elimination of polio but he and his foundation did not do it alone.
Let’s not forget that many of the meddlesome billionaires set up an LLC so they can irresponsibly mess with other’s lives without legal consequences to themselves. It is another way to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. If you have a problem, sue my LLC, not me.
“Teachers who dare to speak out have been purged.” Funny how that line resonates right here at home.
Agreed. I seem to recall that the DA in Atlanta convicted teachers in that cheating scandal of violating RICO laws. RICO was originally in place to break up MAFIA racketeering. And this happened under Arne Duncan.
I hope readers click on the link to the LA Times article to see the details and the photos. I also hope readers of this blog are aware of Trump’s determination to “restore Patriotism” in teaching American history including indoctrination to his ideas about American Exceptionalism with Trump-approved heroes already designated, and more in the works.
Trump’s vision for indoctrination includes a new Garden of American Heroes at least the size of the National Mall, with a start-up inventory of statues of 31 people he (and his advisors) regard as national heroes. https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/08/19/trumps-national-garden-of-american-heroes-will-rival-the-national-mall-in-size/
Charles Laudner, named by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt as Executive Director of the Interagency “Task Force for Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes,” has worked in the National Parks Service since 2018 and is currently is Assistant Director for Legislative and Congressional Affairs. Laudner also served as Trump’s Iowa state campaign director in 2016.
Laudner’s experience in the National Park Service appears to be not much more than participating in ceremonies that designate certain places part of the National Register of Historic Places as authorized by Public Law No: 115-104 (01/08/2018). That law formalizes the quest for such designations relevant to the African American civil rights movement from 1939 through 1968. Lauder was present for additions to this Network, specifically the home of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers in Mississippi and the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, which marks the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Lauder will deal with the day to day work of the task force whose members include Emily Murphy with the General Services Administration; National Endowment for the Arts Chair Mary Anne Carter; National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Jon Parrish Peede; and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chair Aimee Jorjani.
According to an August 3, press release, the “Task Force is in communication with private and public entities across the country, discussing the restoration of damaged statues of American heroes. Additionally, the Task Force sent letters to every governor as well as 2,000 letters to local County Commissioners and Supervisors seeking their input on location for the National Garden, asking them to name any statues to donate or loan to the Garden and submit any heroes they feel should be honored. The Task Force is receiving an overwhelming level of response to these letters and is reviewing responses as they are received.” Some few states (last count three) refused to participate in what at least one governor called a political stunt.
I looked over a few of the letters from governors and county officials. Among these were requests for the Park Service to upgrade state parks to national “monuments” and to included local parks named for heroes on the list of monuments, no statues needed.
If you want to know if see letters to the task force from officials in your state go to https://www.doi.gov/american-heroes/correspondences
Hong Kong is next door to China. It’s a given, China would take over Hong Kong. Everyone knows that. The same could happen to Taiwan. China took over Tibet. China could take over North Korea (maybe South Korea too, one day?). 😮
You are right, Eddie. China is aggressive and totalitarian. Its leaders are capitalists, not Communists.
dianeravitch, the leaders seem Communists to me, or is that totalitarian? ☹️
I think Trump has learned well from China. As soon as Trump designates himself president for life then he will in place to totally destroy democracy, freedom of speech, etc. Just following in the footstep of his heroes: Kim in North Korea, Putin in Russian, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
an essential distinction
“ On July 1, 1997, the British relinquished control and Hong Kong became part of China as a special administrative region.” Not quite correct. HK returned to China in 1997. It had been part of China.