The textbook to be used in Hong Kong’s second grade in September will revise the background of the Opium War, removing the historical information about the Qing Dynasty’s closed-door policy and instead emphasizing the importation of opium by British traders as the cause of the war.
According to Hong Kong Ming Pao, Chinese official media last year urged the Hong Kong government to “thoroughly clean up the current mess in history education in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Education Bureau has been implementing a new curriculum for junior high school Chinese history since September last year, and the new curriculum will be introduced in September this year. The report noted that the new edition of the Modern Education Research Society’s teachers’ book reminds teachers that when teaching about the Opium War, they should pay attention to the British discontent with the Qing court’s trade restrictions and demands for better trading conditions, which are not directly related to the outbreak of the Opium War.
The new syllabus also removes negative portrayals of the Qing court as a ‘heavenly dynasty’ and its arrogant treatment of foreign merchants.
The report mentions that a Chinese History teacher believes that the current curriculum and textbooks are in line with the political situation and do not allow multiple perspectives on the subject, and that there are many red lines in their lectures that do not allow teachers to have other voices.
It is worth noting that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in an interview with Chinese official media Xinhua on April 3 that after the reform of Hong Kong’s electoral system, Hong Kong still has a large number of systems to improve, including education, media and civil service. Some media believe that this indicates that Carrie Lam may take the next step to overhaul education, media and civil service.
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