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LCQ15: Establishing venues with themes of patriotism and national education
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     Following is a question by the Hon Yim Kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, in the Legislative Council today (July 6):

Question:

     The 2017 Policy Address made "understanding Chinese history and culture, and developments of our country" one of the priorities in the work on education. There are views pointing out that establishing venues with the themes of patriotism and national education on the basis of the existing sites of Chinese history and cultural heritage in Hong Kong will enhance the national awareness and the sense of national identity among members of the public over the past 25 years after Hong Kong's return to the Motherland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has considered the aforesaid proposal; if so, whether it has an implementation plan in place and has conducted a study on site selection;

(2) whether it has examined the areas in respect of which there is a need for the relevant departments of the Central Government to render support as well as provide materials and records in the course of preparing for the aforesaid venues, so as to ensure that the contents displayed in the venues will be more comprehensive; and

(3) whether it has considered including, upon the establishment of the aforesaid venues with the theme of national education, visits to such venues as teaching activities of the subjects of Chinese History as well as Citizenship and Social Development in schools?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the Education Bureau and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Yim Kong is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been working together with various sectors of the community to promote education on our country's development and national education. Relevant bureaux and departments strive to promote efforts in this respect to enhance the public's sense of national identity and patriotism through different facilities and activities in a diversified manner:

(a) The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has been working closely with the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) to promote national education outside schools and in the community through various channels and projects, including leveraging on the publications, website and social media pages of the CPCE; producing Announcements in the Public Interest on the national anthem; organising quizzes, talks and exhibitions; and subsidising eligible groups in launching activities, such as exchange programmes with the Mainland, to promote civic education (including national education), with a view to deepening the public's understanding of our country and its development.

     The Civic Education Resource Centre (CERC) of the CPCE provides activities such as guided tours, film sharing sessions, training courses, talks and thematic exhibitions to help promote civic education (including national education). Reference materials and teaching kits on civic education (including national education) are available at the CERC's Resource Corner for easy access by the public.

(b) The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) under the CSTB has been promoting the Chinese history and culture through various means and channels. The LCSD, through its museums and performing arts venues, works closely with cultural institutions in the Mainland in organising various exhibitions and programmes to promote and enrich the public's understanding and experience of the Chinese history and culture. LCSD's museums, such as the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum and the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre (the Sam Tung Uk Museum), organise thematic exhibitions related to the Chinese history and culture from time to time, and organise public and educational activities in various formats to enhance the public's understanding and knowledge of the Chinese history, thereby cultivating their love for the Motherland.

     To enhance the public's knowledge of the history of Hong Kong in the context of the Chinese history and traditional culture, the 2021 Policy Address proposed to set up an Activity Centre for the Promotion of Chinese History and Culture under LCSD with a view to promoting the Chinese history and culture as well as enhancing the public's understanding and interest in China's social development, traditional culture and arts and crafts. Apart from that, the LCSD has organised territorial-wide events such as Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals and Lunar New Year Lantern Carnivals to celebrate major traditional Chinese festivals in order to promote Chinese culture and arts at the district level; and

(c) The HKSAR Government also supports community organisations and professional bodies to create favourable conditions in various ways to promote national education, including the establishment of venues with the themes of national education and patriotism. The community organisations and professional bodies concerned must ensure that the contents displayed in the venues are comprehensive. For example, with the HKSAR Government's support, the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers is setting up a patriotic education support centre in a vacant school premises in Chun Shek Estate, Sha Tin. This centre, which will be officially open this month, will provide support to schools in promoting national education and national security education through diversified teacher training programmes and student learning activities, with a view to cultivating students' law-abiding awareness, understanding of the Motherland and a sense of belonging, as well as national identity and commitment towards our country.

(3) In respect of school education, fostering students' sense of national identity has been one of the key learning goals in schools, and the related work is not limited to certain subjects. With the adoption of a "multi-pronged and co-ordinated" approach, schools implement national education through school curricula and life-wide learning activities beyond the classroom to nurture a sense of national identity and nationhood among students. Schools are encouraged to make good use of government and community resources, such as the museums, heritage sites, exhibitions on our country's development as mentioned above, and sharing between national team athletes invited and students, to organise visits and study tour activities under a wide range of teaching strategies to cultivate students' sense of national identity from an early age.

     To sum up, promotion of education on our country's development and national education requires the concerted efforts of all sectors of the community to create a conducive atmosphere. The HKSAR Government will continue to listen to the views of different sectors of the community, and keep in view the arrangements of existing facilities and activities, with their enhancement or introduction of additional facilities and programmes to be considered in the light of the actual circumstances. The Government will make persistent efforts to promote education on our country's development and national education so as to enable the public to gain further knowledge of the history and development of our country and understand that the Mainland and Hong Kong are closely related with each other a deep bonds of love, thereby cultivating the public's sense of national identity and love for the Motherland.
 
Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Issued at HKT 15:08
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