HK to abide by patriotic education requirements: CE
Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said the SAR will comply with the patriotic education requirements imposed by Beijing, whether or not a relevant law the country's top legislature is considering ultimately applies to Hong Kong. A draft bill aimed at promoting patriotism in the country, especially among the younger generations, had its first reading at a meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on Monday. It states that the country should carry out historical and cultural education in order to strengthen the sense of national identity among compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese. The draft law also requires online content providers to strengthen the creation and dissemination of patriotic content.  Speaking at his weekly media briefing, Lee said it is up to the NPCSC to decide whether the law, if passed, will be enacted in Hong Kong. In any case, he said the SAR will have little difficulty meeting the requirements of the bill, pointing out that "a lot of work” has already been done to strengthen patriotic education in the city.  "We are trying to foster mainstream values centred on love for our country and Hong Kong and consistent with One Country, Two Systems. Elements of national education and patriotic education are found in our local education curriculum, too," he said. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's sole delegate to the nation's top legislature said she believes the bill, if passed, will not be listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and become part of local laws.  Starry Lee said she believes the government will roll out its own measures to strengthen patriotism in the SAR.  "I believe the SAR administration will have corresponding measures in the wake of the implementation of the patriotic education law," she said. "From what I understand, the law won't be included in Annex III [of the Basic Law]. But this doesn't hinder the SAR government from rolling out patriotic education."