Following weeks of rallies, the Hong Kong government has yielded to protests against the introduction of a Chinese education system.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying withdrew the requirement for schools to adopt the curriculum by 2016, a decision coming a day before legislative polls. Mr. Leung told the Financial Times that it would be up to each school whether to teach the Chinese patriotism classes.
Just last week, protesters gathered outside the Central Government Complex demanding Mr. Leung to back down on plans to introduce the Chinese curriculum, which the government claims that the new plans were important in “fostering a sense of national identity and belonging”. Hong Kong citizens decried the subjects as “brainwashing” students into supporting the Chinese communist party. The city’s National Education Service Center distributed ‘China model’ books which ignited protests against the mainland and accused Beijing of using propaganda-style education to gain control over Hong Kong.
