China Infiltrates Hong Kong Classrooms, Removes Pro-Democracy Candidates

China is using its new national security law to brainwash Hong Kong students and to control elections.

Hundreds of school teachers in Hong Kong have been reprimanded or fired since July, when the controversial law took effect.

Multiple art teachers have been fired for posting pro-democracy political cartoons on social media. A middle school music teacher was fired for allowing students to perform a protest anthem during a midterm exam. A liberal studies teacher was fired for asking her students to debate the necessity of the national security law.

“They are turning education into a tool for controlling thought in Hong Kong,” argues Ip Kin-yuen, 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.”

Pro-Beijing residents of Hong Kong have formed organizations to spy on teachers, and at least one Chinese lawmaker wants to install surveillance cameras in every classroom.

China has also used its illegal national security law to block 12 pro-democracy candidates from running in local elections and to detain several high-profile activists in Hong Kong. 

“Clearly, the CCP decided to take this opportunity of the upcoming election to show Hong Kong people and the rest of the world that they have redesigned the whole game,” argues Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, a political scientist and former pro-democracy lawmaker. “If the regime cannot even stand the moderates…we are moving very rapidly towards a one-party system in Hong Kong.”

Based on the “one party, two systems” agreement signed by China and Britain in 1997, Hong Kong’s autonomy was supposed to remain intact until 2047. But it seems Chinese President Xi Jinping can’t stand the smell of democracy, and he is taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation with COVID-19 to control Hong Kong. 

The Chinese takeover began last summer, when HongKongers started to protest en masse against a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

Hong Kong’s pro-China leader, Carrie Lam, said the bill was necessary to ensure Hong Kong did not become a safe haven for criminals. Opponents rightly worried the bill would allow China to arrest journalists, politicians, and anyone else who spoke out against China.

The extradition bill was withdrawn after months of violent protest, but the damage was done. In June, Beijing passed a national security law that will remove many of the freedoms Hong Kong has enjoyed for more than 20 years. The national security law was met with international criticism, yet no government is stupid enough to believe it can stop China from annexing Hong Kong. 

China’s national security law punishes any behavior the CCP considers ‘subversion, secession, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces’ with up to life in prison. It requires teachers to incorporate the new law into their lessons.

Under the law, textbooks are being altered to remove any mention of “separation of powers,” political organizations formed by activists, and situations where freedom of speech is restricted. Pro-democracy songs and slogans have been declared “illegal” and the formation of human chains in schools has been banned.

Politically sensitive books – including titles related to the Tiananmen Square massacre and the Cultural Revolution – are being removed from public libraries. 

Author’s Note: This is the very sad consequence of losing to a totalitarian communist government. China is changing the history books and removing opposition candidates…they are preparing Hong Kong for full integration and total control.

Soon, the people of Hong Kong will be living in a police state.