A small number of people in the leadership core of the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) have threatened to stage a general strike by teachers. It's outrageous that a handful of powerful people could exert such control over the education of our children.

Renowned child psychologist Jean Piaget concluded that, compared with adults, children are more disposed to imitating others. The PTU's plan to hold a citywide strike will affect more than 340,000 pupils in 528 primary schools across Hong Kong. The intellectual capacity of these children is far from mature. Their psychological well being no doubt will suffer as a result of their being manipulated for a political cause they cannot understand. The general strike will serve as mental conditioning for our children that "they can rebel against anything they dislike." It will affect the psyches of young people in multiple ways, leading to conditions such as a tendency to rebel or turn violent.

The few PTU leaders who plan to order a general strike by teachers and students actually aim to profit from it in the upcoming Legislative Council (LegCo) Election. It is a selfish act in total disregard for the integrity of the education profession. That is why it has met with strong resistance from many parents and members of the education profession as well as other sectors of the public.

There is a reason why people describe child development as growing pains, as the social and psychological pressure on children increases as they grow up and learn to deal with various social and cultural challenges that inevitably affect the development of their personalities. Bad social experience is a hotbed for acquired personality disorder and the general strike that a few PTU leaders intend to launch will be a bad social experience for our children without a question.

Many local residents took to the Internet to voice their resentment toward the PTU plan for a general strike, calling the decision makers "unfit as teachers and out of their mind;" while some others expressed worries in online forums about the bad influence the strike could have on their children growing up in addition to immediate consequences such as interrupted education. Some parents fear students may take the general strike as a model they can duplicate later in life and thus let it shape their values without knowing it.

Hong Kong society has always preferred a rational, balanced and moderate approach to disputes and rejects aggressive acts. In fact, there have been very few strikes in the history of education here. And no strike was called after heated debates over a series of education-related issues in recent years, let alone dragging school children into one.

The truth is the few PTU leaders planned the strike as part of their LegCo Election campaign in total violation of educators' ethics and integrity. Their behavior will not only lead the election astray but also take students on a dangerous track toward twisted personality against the mainstream values such as rationality, balance and moderation.

National identity is rooted in history, culture, society, economy and politics as a whole package but not necessarily as equal parts. Generally speaking Hong Kong residents are becoming more interested in learning more about the Chinese history, culture and taking part in the country's economic development, including helping improve people's livelihood, education, disaster relief and many other worthy causes that have seen Hong Kong residents' heart of gold repeatedly over the years with no urging needed. National education is about cultivating the sense of belonging, of citizen duty and of national identity in people. It is not "obscurantism" or "brainwashing" and certainly not a disaster as a few ill-advised people are trying to make us believe.

The moral and national education curriculum aims mainly to nurture a positive value set and a positive attitude toward life in the students' minds as well as to help them establish healthy relationships with their families, communities, the nation and the world, as whole persons with their own aspirations and ideals and committed to fulfilling their responsibilities for their families, communities, the nation and the world. It also covers all the mainstream values cherished by people around the world. That is why national education is a common practice everywhere.

A few PTU leaders are using some debatable details as an excuse to dismiss national education all together and even trying to blackmail the SAR government with a general strike at the students' expense. It only proves they are selfish politicians with no respect for public interest or universal values for that matter.

The author is the president of Hong Kong Industry Commerce and Professional Association and a senior current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 08/15/2012 page3)