National education: Know your roots to know yourselves

Ngai chastised young people who desecrated or burned the national flag during last year's anti-government protests, calling their behavior "heart-wrenching".

"You wouldn't stomp on other countries' national flags. How and why would you do such a thing to your own country?" he asked. "Why are you not respecting your fellow 1.4 billion compatriots who share a similar cultural background?"

Ngai, who's also a manager of Fanling Rhenish Church Secondary School, stressed that national education is essential for students to embrace their heritage, take pride in who they are, let their virtues shine and live a meaningful life.

"If you don't even love your home or your own country, how can you ever love others and the world? Without loving your own self, you're only living in a hotbed of hate," he said.

Ngai's pedagogic beliefs are shared by Hui Chun-lung, principal of HKFEW Wong Cho Bau Secondary School.

Hui said now is a good time to add national education to schools' curriculum to help students systematically learn about and be proud of their Chinese identity.

In the past two decades, he said, the balance has tilted too much toward "two systems" in the governing principle of "one country, two systems". With the National Security Law now in force, it's high time the imbalance in the curriculum be addressed, he said.

"We seldom talk about our national identity as Chinese. Most of the textbooks only mention we're Hong Kong residents," Hui said, adding that this is why some young people don't agree they belong to the Chinese population, which is wrong.

The fact that the bulk of Hong Kong residents have their roots on the mainland is evident in history, he said, proposing a national education curriculum that teaches history, Chinese culture and modern China.

Such a holistic understanding of the country should start at a young age, as such values are essential for a child's upbringing, Hui said.

Students' understanding of their country should progress as they advance through kindergarten, primary and secondary school and college, during which they would gain a better knowledge of their identities and the contributions they can make to their community and country, he added.