If Beijing Needs a Monster To Explain "Brainwashed Individualism" In Hong Kong, Maybe They Should Look Towards... Themselves?

For many of us teachers - real or imagined - this week marked the first week back at school and, more pertinently, the introduction of 'national education' into the Hong Kong education curriculum. Cue hunger strikes, protests and, in response, protestation from the pro-Beijing camp that such actions were being masterminded by evil-doers in London and Washington. But have the 20th century powers of yesteryear really stuck their fingers all that far into the protest pie?

As a Scotsman and citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I understand to some extent the diasporic skirting of allegiances that many Hong Kong people battle with regard to China. Many people are happy, even at pains, to stress their ethnicity as Chinese, only to add the proviso that they are Hong Kong Chinese. It seems there is an underlying desire to preserve the autonomy of Hong Kong that supercedes ethnic loyalty.

Having lived in Hong Kong for a number of years, I can see that this desire for autonomy is highly pervasive and that a large majority here see self-determination as Hong Kong's holy grail as we progress at an alarming rate towards the full handover in 2047. On the other side of the coin, few could deny China the responsibilty to share an understanding of itself with less than half a century to go until its ideologically unique SAR is assimilated into the maternal fold in less than forty years time.

If there is one legacy for which the British must bear responsibility regarding Hong Kong-Chinese relationships, it is surely in their selective teaching of history. In every age, history is taught as selectively as it is permitted to be. For me, lessons on the British empire leaned more towards pretty silk and elephant rides than persecution, pillaging and exploitation. The fall of the empire was documented almost equally (and wrongly) as the generous returning of nations to their rightful owners as it was the culmination of often bloody and cruel battles for independence. Perhaps political education delivered a generation ago accounts for some of what we are seeing today.

For many, anti-China fears and sentiments pre-1997 led to extremes of anxiety, fear of a crackdown on autonomy and in many cases emigration. Coupled with a sensed and seen infiltration of 'mainland' companies, language, etiquettes and people, this has led to rising anti-mainlander sentiment in Hong Kong. For some - particularly those in the pro-Beijing camp - this is a natural if unsavoury hangover from a colonial past. Indeed, it might also explain why the scars of British-led education have survived and been imprinted upon the new generation now involved in the protests. For others, this is an inevitable attempt to cling to some semblance of preservation in the face of a behemoth.

China's cause has not been helped by the fact that materials heralding the arrival of national education place such pretty emphasis on the value and integrity of the party whilst denigrating many of the values which Hong Kong people benefit from and themselves nurture in their everyday life. In turn, there seems little emphasis on the more controversial aspects of Chinese governance which makes people nervous that their children are going to be 'brainwashed', rather than informed of their mother nation's history, culture and civilisation.

This word, brainwashed, has been emphasised in both camps. In the pro-Beijing camp it has been levied against pro-Democracy politicians in Hong Kong claiming that 'brainwashed' Western-ideological politicians in Hong Kong are polluting the minds of the younger generations. From my point of view, people only fight when they have something to lose. China is the greatest producer of consumable goods in the entire world. A substantial portion of their global brand growth depended/depends on individualism, consumerism and the opportunity to express oneself through consumable goods. When we consume and possess, we attach a value to ourself that inspires us to protect our individual rights and representations. Is it really all that surprising that, in the global age, this trend would filter through to Hong Kong and China itself? Sure people are already being 'brainwashed' but by consumerism and individualism, and the economically brilliant thing is that none of us really see it coming. The difference with national education is they can see it coming, so they want to stand up against it. They want to access whatever website they like, to say what they want, do what they want and be what they want with who they want when they want. Same rule applies again, Britain introduced shopping mall culture in the late 19th century but China took up the mantle and now bears a burden of responsibility for the individualism which partly drives the anti-national education ticket

Rather than imparting a national education upon Hong Kong and dismissing dissenters as fall guys of the colonial age, Beijing should be mindful of the desires of the people of Hong Kong based on their history/socialisation and respect that people here can make up their own minds as individuals and holders of rights. National education would be far more effective if it were balanced, truthful and was not not so obviously anti-the Hong Kong way of life as to ensure it could never catch on without the recriminations we are seeing right now.