National security education: Schools get guidelines

February 05, 2021 11:04
Photo: RTHK

The Education Bureau laid out its plan for national security education in a set of guidelines and teaching resources issued to local schools Thursday.

Schools are asked to review the guidelines as soon as possible and devise the implementation details accordingly.

The authority also said schools should prevent the teaching of law-breaking behavior, as well as guard against the infiltration of politics into campuses.

Primary school students will have to learn about the four major offences under the national security law – secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with a foreign power, RTHK reported, citing notices sent to schools. They will also be taught about the origins of the Basic Law and the One Country, Two Systems principle.

Secondary school students would be taught about specific crimes under the security law; the opportunities and challenges that China faces in the international arena; Hong Kong's constitutional duty to enact Article 23 legislation; and that the national security law does not affect rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hongkongers.

Students are going to learn these issues through a variety of classes, from Chinese and General Studies to music and economics.

Numerous activities including competitions, visits to the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and exchange trips to the mainland would also be conducted.

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