Conflicts with PRC standards
Besides quantitative problems, there are also quite different attitudes at work. In British texts, Hong Kong is still Hong Kong while China is still China. For example, one of the items in the curriculum standards suggests: "List views on the maintenance of good relations between Hong Kong and China." Says Rodney F.C. Chui, president of the Hong Kong Educational Publishers Association, "This will be completely unacceptable after 1997." The new curriculum will be implemented beginning in September of 1996, only 9 months prior to the July 1997 turnover. The new texts should meet the needs of the future, yet they are still guided by the point of view of Hong Kong as a colony.
Many in Hong Kong are worried that China, which has always emphasized nationalism and patriotism, will in the future object to Hong Kong's textbooks.
Last November, the Cultural Subcommittee of the Preliminary Working Committee of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (a pro-PRC body which is planning for the transition to Chinese rule) issued its views on the content of textbooks. The Subcommittee stated that overall there are few problems, but that several items touching upon civic education underplay Chinese national identity, treat China as a neighboring country (rather than as the mother country), and promote the idea of "two Chinas." The committee urged that offending items be revised after 1997. Those on the Subcommittee believe that Hong Kong textbooks should emphasize Chinese nationalism, reflect the fact that Hong Kong is being returned to China, and thoroughly imbue students with the concept of "one country, two systems."
The textbooks to be used in 1997 will be approved by the Hong Kong educational authorities in 1996, after which private publishing houses will put them into print. This means that anyone who wishes to affect the post-1997 textbooks must deal with the Hong Kong educational authorities today.
However, because relations between the Preparatory Committee and the Hong Kong government are not good, the two sides are not communicating with each other. The Preparatory Committee has thus advocated going through diplomatic channels to pass on the problem to the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group for discussion. At that level, the PRC government has a great deal of influence, and decisions reached at that level would have to be implemented by the Hong Kong government.
Dilemma for publishers
Right now, the Hong Kong side does what it wants, while the Chinese side makes plans for what it wants. "Publishers are caught in the middle. On the one hand they are trying to conform to the Hong Kong reforms. But on the other, they are worried that after 1997 it will all have been wasted effort," says Rodney Chui, who is also managing director of the New Asia Publishing House.
From a strictly educational point of view, publishers are well aware that it is necessary to put a new curriculum into place. But they believe that the timing is inappropriate for what the Hong Kong government is proposing, because not enough consideration has been given to the political environment. Some in Hong Kong have even hinted darkly at a plot, arguing that the British want to throw the educational system into chaos before pulling out of Hong Kong.
Publishers have already met to discuss the problem of textbooks during the transitional period, but they have not been able to change the Hong Kong government's decision. All they can do is to review the textbook guidelines and apply some general principles to them, raising objections if the guidelines violate the terms of the Basic Law. Yet this cannot resolve their basic dilemma.
"We cannot simply publish an entirely new set of textbooks after 1997. There's not enough time. And anyway, there are not that many students in Hong Kong, while there are 40 or 50 publishing houses, so each house can only sell a very limited number of books. Since these publishers have only limited manpower and financial resources, having to produce new texts would become a major burden," points out Rodney Chui.
Because of the turmoil in Hong Kong education today, some individuals, including members of the Preparatory Committee and some Hong Kong publishers, have formed a "Hong Kong Educational Publishing Committee of Concern." Publishers hope to use this channel to learn the views of the PRC toward proposed textbooks.
Change yourself
On the other side of this debate are people like Cheung Man-kwong, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, representing the educational sector. He strongly opposes taking the textbook issue to the diplomatic level. Cheung agrees that when sovereignty over Hong Kong changes after 1997, textbooks should be appropriately revised to meet the new social and economic conditions.
"However, the curriculum currently being used in Hong Kong was decided upon by specialized bodies. The government should start preparatory work as soon as possible to make some small adjustments, and there is no need to let someone else do our job and invite interference from outsiders," he says.
However, this still begs the question: What is the definition of an appropriate revision?
Kwong Chi-hung, general manager of the Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company, believes that only technical adjustments will be needed in textbooks to cope with political changes. Phrases that smack of colonialism can be altered. For example, the Chinese title of the highest ranking official can be changed from zongdu (a term corresponding to the English title "governor," but which in Chinese carries the feeling of "viceroy" or "imperial official") to "chief executive." According to Kwong's calculations, only about five percent of the contents of current textbooks would need to be revised.
But some people contend that a complete change in ideological orientation will be unavoidable. Says Rodney Chui, "Although it is clearly stipulated in the Basic Law that Hong Kong's educational system--including curriculum autonomy--need not be changed for 50 years, this is wishful thinking. Education must always take into account the fact that it is educating citizens of a particular entity."
Don't love your parents, just love China?
Chui points out that many people have seen education in Hong Kong as being politically neutral, as simply education in and for itself. But, he says with dismay, "the worst thing about colonial education is not what it teaches you, but what it doesn't teach you." In civic education in primary schools in Hong Kong, political topics are given short shrift. Children are taught to love their parents, classmates, animals, nature. . . . in fact they are taught to love just about everything except to love China, their mother country. As far as civic education goes, Chui sees this as a severe shortcoming.
But, retorts Cheung Man-kwong, "education should naturally start from the child himself or herself. You can't not study about your family and just study about China. After all, the first thing a child learns to say is 'mama,' not 'Deng Xiaoping!'" Cheung approves of adding a bit more Chinese nationalist flavor and patriotism, but warns against restricting content to these elements. In a normal peacetime situation, he thinks, the highest values should be personal freedom, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. These are all extremely important, and students should not drop everything and study only China just because 1997 is coming.
Au Pak-kuen is the assistant director of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union. Every year for the past ten years he has demonstrated his patriotism by going to the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong to denounce the Japanese government for World War II atrocities against China (such as the Rape of Nanjing). He agrees that to develop a sense of national self-confidence, it is necessary to study the nation's history. But, he feels, democratic education should precede nationalist education, otherwise the latter can be manipulated by ambitious people; when nationalism is carried to an extreme point, one only acknowledges the claims of one's own group, and there is no tolerance for others.
He hopes that in the future an independent textbook development office can be created. "Education is the most important tool for shaping thinking. Mainland China is now emphasizing patriotism in its education, and I'm really worried they are going to dump all of that on to Hong Kong."
Thought control?
No one will deny the importance of textbooks. But can textbooks really "control" the next generation? In the past, efforts have been made to control the thinking of the people, yet have often failed, as everyone from the first emperor of China to Mao discovered. In Taiwan, many people who were steeped in the ideology of "greater China" in school, today no longer wish to be a part of China. And many Chinese people in Hong Kong who experienced colonial education, today wish to strengthen nationalist consciousness.
Thus, whatever changes Hong Kong and Taiwan may make in their textbooks today, perhaps the political situation in the 21st century will be quite different. Will the next generation wish to change everything again when that time comes? Nobody can say for sure.
[Picture Caption]
p.18
Political changes in Taiwan and Hong Kong are altering primary school textbooks enormously. In Taiwan (left photo), "nativist education" is being emphasized, while in Hong Kong (right) "China" is being stressed. (left photo by Diago Chiu)
p.20
Taiwan's political transformation has been internally driven. Following the lifting of martial law and a redistribution of power among political parties, a consensus has formed around the idea of "Taiwan first." (photo by Diago Chiu)
p.21
Hong Kong's political transformation is being externally driven. Last year a film described the fall of Hong Kong into Japanese hands in World War II, using the past as a metaphor for the present.
p.22
Taiwanese consciousness has been affected to a great extent by the ethnic tragedy of the early years after the return to Chinese rule which followed the Japanese colonial period. The photo shows the ceremony held upon the completion of the February 28 incident memorial in Pingtung. (photo by Cheng Yuan-ching)
p.23
Hong Kong's lack of a national identity is due to a century as a British colony. The photo is of the official car of the Hong Kong governor.
p.24
In the future Taiwan textbooks will not only emphasize Taiwan, they will have a stronger global perspective. The photo shows activities to raise money for African children victimized by war.
p.25
Hong Kong children are not only learning putonghua, they are also studying traditional calligraphy.
p.26
Can textbooks really "control" the next generation? Nobody knows for sure.