Patriotic Education
By Chip Tsao | Jul 12, 2012
The 「peking Model,」 the centerpiece of which is a communist one-party political dictatorship, is one of 「progress, selflessness and solidarity,」 while the western democratic system is bringing 「malignant political party struggles and misery to the people who constantly pay the price for being able to choose their governments with their votes.」 It sounds like what a pyongyang state anchorwoman screeches out during a routine news broadcast, but these are in fact the guidelines under which HongKong teachers will have to preach to their classes under the guise of the controversial new 「national education」 standards.
The teaching manual of the patriotism course has alarmed local schoolteachers, parents and teachers. It feels like the winter of 1937 in Nanking, when the Japanese troops were marching in as people were rushing to the British and French Quarters to seek a safe haven. If all the international schools in the territory were listed on the 恒生 Index as public companies, there would be no better time than now to buy up.
The National Education Center, set up by Sir Donald Tsang』s SAR government, receives $13 million every year to publish this teaching manual. 「National Education」 is a compulsory course designed for those who cannot afford, or lack the connections, or are simply too dumb — unlike the sons or daughters of Sir Donald and CY Leung — to earn a place at Harrow or Winchester in England. While the economy class of HongKong secondary school students from grass-roots family backgrounds in 屯門 or 將軍澳 are condemned to being brainwashed with a proper 「national identity,」 the business and first class children have the freedom to rub shoulders with top-class peking princelings on a green grassy lawn somewhere in southern England and boast about the impression of one particular legendary classmate — now missing and rumored to be under the joint protection of CIA and MI6 — over a glass of champagne in 蘭桂坊 during their summer vacations in Hong Kong.
In case local HongKong teachers are still confused about the Chinese political propaganda curriculum, mainland educational experts will be more than happy to be seconded to local schools to give them a few drills, all as a small part of China』s global 「soft-power」 export campaign to counter-civilize the west, and teach them how to live with the rising dragon. But this is likely to cause another wave of Yellow Peril, this one in academia. Classrooms and student dorms will be buzzing with Mandarin and Cantonese and school canteens in Eton and Harrow will be serving up steaming bowls of shark』s fin soup. It』s clear that many super-rich Chinese mothers, being the wives of directors at state-owned public companies, definitely prefer the British Model over the peking Model — at least as far as education of their children is concerned. |
發表於 2012-7-27 22:16:24