Kindergarteners in Hong Kong are being handed stickers and bookmarks ahead of the city’s first National Security Education Day since the controversial law was passed, a move that has lent to comparisons with mainland-style brainwashing targeting young children.
An education union said the accessories have been sent to schools for teachers to distribute to students, according to Apple Daily.
Parents have reported their children receiving the stickers and bookmarks, which read “Uphold National Security” and “Safeguard Our Home” in Chinese and English.
biosecurity, deep sea security, space security, polar security, overseas interests security etc — this is a bookmark apparently being dished out to staffers and students in hong kong schools #感覺很安全 pic.twitter.com/oaoTU6Svdn
— Jeffie Lam (@jeffielam) April 13, 2021
The bookmarks are printed with wording describing 16 types of “security,” from “military security” to “overseas interest security” to “polar security.”
National Security Education Day will be held Friday.
While a section calling for regular review of teaching materials and use of “appropriate sources” in an Education Bureau document about the national security curriculum does not apply to kindergartens, teachers of younger children are encouraged to “build up students’ identity as a Chinese and thus lay the foundation for national security education.”
Read more: Sing ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ in school and you could be punished, Education Secretary says
In a statement published Sunday, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said that the Education Bureau has called on the city’s schools to hold “relevant activities” in the lead up to and on National Security Education Day, such as flag-raising assemblies and national anthem ceremonies.
A website promoting the occasion has also been set up with videos of pro-Beijing officials’ speeches and a multiple-choice quiz about national security. The page is only available in Chinese.
