The Queen and Hong Kongers. 5｜Why Hong Kong's "spiritual" split between China and the British colony

"Queen Elizabeth II never taught us to love Britain, but taught us to love Hong Kong..." In Hong Kong's eulogy, this sentence appeared very frequently, because many people This is to express dissatisfaction with the SAR government's implementation of many explicit national education policies.

In recent years, whenever there is a dispute over identity, some people hope to emphasize the information that "Hong Kong and Britain are not brainwashed" through such sayings as "Hong Kong British do nothing" - but paradoxically, this kind of information itself is a kind of implicit "brainwashing". "The result is that many people do not take it seriously, or even believe that the brainwashing of Hong Kong and Britain must be more just and correct, so they readily accept it; however, on the surface, they do not seem to impose a certain kind of consciousness, but in fact they are deeply embedded in the non-ethnic, No country, no concept of self.

"The Queen and the People of Hong Kong" Series 5 of 6

Some Hong Kong people are fond of the Hong Kong-British period. In recent years, whenever there is a dispute over identity, some people always hope to emphasize the message that "Hong Kong-British is not brainwashed" through sayings such as "Hong Kong-British do nothing" - but paradoxically, this This information itself is the result of an implicit "brainwashing".

(File photo/Photo by Gao Zhongming)

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

1 | Behind the public grief is a collective star-chasing action by the Queen of England and the people of Hong Kong.

2 | What is the royal family obsessed with - what the people want or self-imagination?

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

3｜Why do you believe the Hong Kong story of "British Gift"?

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

4｜Why is there an orphan complex of "the birth mother is not as old as the foster mother"?

'Hong Kong residents' alienate 'Chinese citizens'

"Colonization" itself would involve the ideological transformation of the colony by the suzerain.

In the process of colonizing Hong Kong with the British, a certain kind of "deconstruction and re-construction" of consciousness is also indispensable. For example, the cultural identity and identity construction of "global citizens" that some people talk about with great relish, is exactly what some "Hong Kong people" are today. The root of the problem that "who am I" cannot be clearly explained-because the civic education that "the Queen of England has never asked us to love Britain, sing the national anthem, and understand the national conditions", which is praised by those people, not only fails to clarify the "China" as a national identity The primary and secondary relationship between "citizens" and "Hong Kong residents" who are urban identities, on the contrary, magnifies the connection between "Hong Kong residents" and stateless "world citizens", and tends to be non-ethnic and stateless.

"Colonialism is a system of domination covering political, social and cultural dimensions. Hong Kong people's political and social cognition, as well as their understanding of citizenship, are shaped by colonial experience." Department of General Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong Leung Cheuk-hang, a lecturer, summed up the general opinion in the academic field in the academic paper "The Cultural and Political Context of Civic Education in Hong Kong: Post-colonial Dilemma and the Framework of Critical Pedagogy". The emphasis is not on the identification of national identity, nor on the awareness of citizenship rights and responsibilities, but on making Hong Kong people become "Hong Kong residents" who feel alienated from "Chinese citizens", so as not to breed national feelings and nationalism, which is detrimental to the British colonial administration. rule.

Liang Zhuoheng's article also mentioned that on the surface, the British Hong Kong government did not systematically degrade Chinese identity or suppress Chinese traditions, but in fact, the authorities have been relatively implicitly conducting a "cultural superiority construction".

For example, from the colonial power, modern regulations, bureaucratic procedural justice, and even the implementation and promotion of English cultural hegemony, the much-touted British institutional advantages can be seen; in contrast, traditional Chinese culture is only the inheritance and promotion of the spiritual values ​​of the common people. Cohesion and disguise highlight the nobility, enlightenment and authority of Western civilization.

Leung Cheuk-hang also pointed out that in the later period of British colonialism, the rational governance order deliberately created by the British Hong Kong government, coupled with the social development driven by the ten-year reform of Hong Kong Governor MacLehose, laid a solid foundation for Hong Kong to become a modern metropolis. The recognition of governance also constructs a civilized, rational, and pragmatic identity discourse of Hong Kong people, which makes colonialism and capitalism integrate, but also leads to the tendency of Hong Kong people to downplay the experience of being colonized in their daily life.

During the 152 years of British colonial rule, the British Hong Kong government did not systematically demean the Chinese identity or suppress Chinese traditions, but in fact, the authorities have always carried out a "cultural superiority construction" relatively implicitly.

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alienated people's education

So, specifically, what kind of "education of alienation" and "construction of cultural superiority" did Hong Kong people experience?

"Before the 1970s, the British Hong Kong government pursued a strategy of 'depoliticizing education'." Tan Huiyin, a professor at the School of Marxism at South China University of Technology, who focuses on United Front work and ideological and political education, published last year's journal article "Colonialization" "Education and the Weak National Identity of Hong Kong Compatriots" lists how the Hong Kong and British governments cut off the Chinese cultural context, promoted the language government, and prohibited the teaching of modern Chinese history, etc., resulting in the national identity dilemma of Hong Kong residents.

Let’s talk about civic education first.

As early as 1925, after the "province-Hong Kong strike", in the face of the increasingly strong national awakening, the British Hong Kong government in Shenzhen and Hong Kong needed to strengthen ideological transformation, so a "citizenship department" was set up to instill the superiority of the British system and culture.

By 1948, "citizenship" was even listed as a public examination subject, and the curriculum emphasized the importance of maintaining the capitalist system in order to check and balance the spread of communism in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, with the frequent activities of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in Hong Kong and the occurrence of the "June 7 riots", the British Hong Kong changed their attitude towards civic education, hoping to maintain "apolitical" stability through an "apolitical" education system Environment, "citizenship" has since become a hidden course, hidden in other social sciences; for example, "Economic and Public Affairs Division" was established in 1965, only a low-level description of the functions of the Hong Kong government, but rarely talks about actual political operations, and Avoids national identity and national issues, and is even more reluctant to talk about the various oppressions and conflicts during colonial rule.

Look again at history education.

In 1952, the British-led Syllabus and Textbook Committee suggested that Hong Kong's "Chinese History" course should not focus too much on "politics" but on "society and culture" in order to "recover the often forgotten Chinese civilization" virtues and virtues".

By the 1960s, the teaching content basically excluded the content of "modern China", and instead depicted a non-politicized and culturalist "view of Chinese identity"; The sub-themes that come and go between the grand narrative and the dynasties of China are used to instill a very abstract traditional cultural pride, but completely detached from real life and contemporary political China.

By 1971, Hong Kong and Britain promulgated the "Education Regulations", which explicitly prohibited teachers and students from engaging in political activities in schools. Not only could they not use words such as "motherland" and "nation", but also some sensitive historical facts, such as the Opium War and the founding of the People's Republic of China, were excluded from the curriculum. .

The occurrence of the "June 7 riots" led Hong Kong British to change their attitude towards civic education, hoping to maintain an "apolitical" stable environment through an "apolitical" education system. Since then, "civics" has become a hidden curriculum. hidden in other social sciences.

(Photo by the Information Services Department)

The superior construction of British colonial culture

It was not until the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 that the "depoliticization of education" improved.

At that time, civil society began to widely discuss issues such as "a high degree of autonomy" and "Hong Kong's future". In order to stabilize the transition, the central government decided to continue to use the Hong Kong-British identity system and use "Hong Kong residents" instead of "Chinese citizens" as the implementation of the Basic Law. The main body of rights and obligations has led to civic education that should focus on national identity, and continued to strengthen residents' awareness of identity.

In 1985, the Education Department issued the "Guidelines for Civic Education in Schools" (referred to as the "85 Guidelines") to implement civic education in all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Although it finally broke the political ban on schools, the focus of the curriculum was to get rid of "suzerainty ideas", so as to cultivate The local identity of "Hong Kong residents" rather than the national identity and identity of "Chinese citizens".

In terms of "the superior construction of British colonial culture", many mainland scholars who focus on Hong Kong and Macau studies, especially those who have come to Hong Kong for further study, have written many works on this subject. For example, the Institute of Education of Nanjing University holds a Ph. Professor Cao Taisheng published the academic paper "Research on the History of Hong Kong's Education System (1840-1997)" in 1997, and Associate Professor Xu Shuqin and Professor Xia Yingyu of the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Sun Yat-Sen University, who have doctorates from the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University respectively. In 2021, the co-authored "Changes in Educational Management in Hong Kong: 1842-2020" listed the following three Hong Kong-British educations that are full of colonial characteristics, from which to cultivate the awareness of "British culture is superior to others":

First, cultivate elites and cultivate compradors - Audrey, who served as Hong Kong's Department of Education and Inspector in the 1880s, made it clear that during the 19th century, the British Hong Kong authorities did little to "revitalize Chinese society to the level of Europeans." The idea is to cultivate Chinese elites to identify with British culture, become "pro-British missionaries", and even become "part of China's future bureaucratic class"; and at the beginning of the 20th century, the British Hong Kong government also Alleviating the national sentiment that Chinese private schools may bring, especially relaxing their eligibility for subsidies, and even launching a subsidy scheme; and the University of Hong Kong, a higher education institution established in 1911, is also considered an "imperial investment". By cultivating upper-class Chinese who are close to the United Kingdom to enter government departments or serve the development of technology, they will communicate with China and consolidate British rule.

From the colonial power, modern rules and regulations, bureaucratic procedural justice, and even the implementation and implementation of English cultural hegemony, the touted advantages of the British system can all be seen.

(Photo by the Information Services Department)

Utilitarianism

Second, the British-style system strengthens ties - the highly centralized Hong Kong Governor, also at the top of the entire education system, has the highest decision-making, legislative, and executive powers over education policy. When the Governor was incapable of dealing with education, the British offered direct and indirect advice, such as the 1935 Binney Report.

In order to strengthen the special connection between the colony and the suzerain, the organization and management, the education system, and even the teaching content all follow the British practice, which directly reflects the recognition of the British knowledge system, but ignores whether the relevant system is suitable for local development needs, such as the United States. Tu Zuyi, an educationalist of Chinese descent, once criticized that Hong Kong's "6-3-2-2-3" schooling system adopted by the British model is incompatible with the "6-3-3-4" schooling system commonly used in the world, because the authorities completely ignore the "6-3-3-4" schooling system. The two factors of age" and "language" have caused many local students to have serious academic and psychological disorders.

Third, pay attention to English and despise the mother tongue - as we all know, no language is neutral, because each language must come with a set of ideologies, opinions and attitudes. The manifestation of professionalism carries the authority of the Western knowledge system and the hegemony of English culture behind it, and its popularization process is closely related to the large-scale colonization of the British Empire.

Take Hong Kong as an example. Since 1878, the British Hong Kong government has made English a compulsory course in government schools, while Chinese is an elective course. The former is twice as long as the latter; If the newly established schools do not use English as the medium of instruction, they will not be able to obtain government funding. This shows that the authorities' policy of "focusing on English over Chinese" will lay hidden dangers for future resource inequality.

The popularization of English is undoubtedly the certification of Hong Kong's "internationalization", but the "English frenzy" it brings has also fully exposed that Hong Kong has lost its own cultural value.

In addition, Hong Kong and British colonial education also has a strong capitalist and utilitarian nature.

Also published in 1997, the Mainland Education Journal article "A Brief Analysis of the Colonialism and Utilitarian Essence of Hong Kong Education" pointed out that the United Kingdom is the birthplace of the theory of bourgeois utilitarianism. “After the British occupied Hong Kong, they tried to root the British utilitarian ideas in Hong Kong soil, dominate Hong Kong’s economic activities and even people’s values, in order to seek more benefits in the Far East. Specifically, in terms of education policy in Hong Kong and Britain, there are two main manifestations of capitalism and utilitarianism:

The story of Hong Kong is also a story of materialism, capitalism and utilitarianism.

(Andyyeungphotography)

Economic interests lead education

First, attach importance to political domination and ignore educational development.

The article argues that at the beginning of the British occupation of Hong Kong, they were eager to set up ruling institutions to establish a colonial rule, but they did not really care about the development of education in Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents converted to the church.

Secondly, commercial interests are at the sway, emphasizing practicality and lacking foresight.

Britain in the 19th century regarded utilitarianism as the moral standard and value concept that dominated social life. After the fall of Hong Kong, a ruling system was established that was integrated with its culture. People's lives and behaviors were run through a strong commercial spirit, relying on capital. Doctrine and utilitarianism dominate the political trend and economic development of the whole society, and they are brought into full play, "Everything is aimed at actual or direct economic interests, and will not be based on the actual needs of Hong Kong people and society. The goal is to improve the overall quality of all Hong Kong citizens.”

For example, the British Hong Kong government implemented free primary education in 1971, and implemented free education for nine years in 1978. It was precisely based on the demand for talents in the development of industry and commerce, so that the British Empire could obtain more benefits.

For another example, the authorities have always favored industrial education and vocational education to adapt to the rapid economic development of Hong Kong and ensure a sufficient number of senior high-level technical personnel, but obviously despise education and services that cannot directly bring economic benefits and are necessary for people's lives, such as pre-school education and services. Education and special education also neglect the development of humanities and long-term majors, "leading to spiritual emptiness and social decadence."

These characteristics still dominate the development of Hong Kong's education system to this day.

For example, our leading institutions of higher learning are often criticized for being market-oriented, Anglo-American, and homogenizing: on the one hand, they over-indulge in international ranking games, thus forgetting their educational functions of "cultivating people with morality" and "economical economy" , which only drives education output with economic interests, which seriously distorts the ecology of the university, and fails to make good use of various research results to lead social reform and progress; Failed to achieve two-way integration through internationalization.

"In fact, Hong Kong is a society that did not end its British colonial rule through the 'decolonial movement'." Law Wing-sang, a famous Hong Kong cultural studies scholar, published in 2013 the phenomenon of "colonialism" after the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong ” said that even since the handover, neither Beijing nor Hong Kong have told the story of “decolonization”...

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

1 | Behind the public grief is a collective star-chasing action by the Queen of England and the people of Hong Kong.

2 | What is the royal family obsessed with - what the people want or self-imagination?

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

3｜Why do you believe the Hong Kong story of "British Gift"?

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

4｜Why is there an orphan complex of "the birth mother is not as old as the foster mother"?

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

5｜Why Hong Kong's "spiritual" split between China and the British colony