The Education Bureau (EDB) today (October 15) held the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" Joint School National Education Activities Kick-off Ceremony in celebration of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In view of the regularisation and popularisation of the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of activities starting from the 2025/26 school year, the EDB will continue to lead government schools and collaborate with more school sponsoring bodies (including Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui) and school councils to jointly plan and implement the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of activities. It will foster patriotic education through collaboration across school sponsoring bodies and among schools, with a view to strengthening students' sense of national identity and cultural confidence.

     The Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Sze Chun-fai, together with representatives from school sponsoring bodies, school councils and school head associations involved in organising the activities, jointly officiated at the kick-off ceremony. About 2 500 representatives from the EDB and school sponsoring bodies, principals, teachers, students and parents attended.

     Addressing the event, Dr Sze said that starting from this school year, as announced by the Chief Executive in the 2025 Policy Address, the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of activities will be regularised and popularised to further strengthen collaboration across school sponsoring bodies and among schools. The EDB will invite all schools in Hong Kong to apply for the Title Scheme for the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of activities to organise quality joint school national education activities, thereby pooling the resources and strengths of different schools to maximise the impact of patriotic education.

     This year marks the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Dr Sze emphasised the importance of remembering the history of the Chinese people's perseverance and solidarity in resisting foreign aggression, jointly safeguarding national security, and cherishing the hard-earned peace. The EDB will continue to support schools in integrating patriotic education into daily learning and teaching through a multipronged and co-ordinated approach, with the aim of deepening students' affection for and sense of belonging to the country. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the school sponsoring bodies, school councils and fellow educators for their continuous collaboration in fostering national education and nurturing a healthy new generation with affection for the country and Hong Kong.

     The kick-off ceremony featured a variety of programmes, including the performance of the magnificent "Yellow River Cantata" by a joint school Chinese orchestra comprised of nearly 80 students; lion dances, literary recitation and Cantonese opera performances by over 100 students; and a song performed by a choir composed of 80 students from different school sponsoring bodies, school councils and government schools, marking the finale of the ceremony. All the participants joined together to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and witness the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of activities embark on a new chapter.

     Highlights of the kick-off ceremony will be broadcast on RTHK TV 31 at 2pm on November 22 (Saturday).

Ends/Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:30

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