By JOYCE LAU
HONG KONG — Thousands of people took to the streets here on Sunday to protest the introduction of Chinese national education in Hong Kong schools, a day after the city’s education minister warned that such demonstrations would not stop or delay the process.
Victoria Park, the traditional starting point for the city’s frequent protests, was a sea of umbrellas as parents shielded their children from the sun. There have been at least two demonstrations since June: Hong Kong’s annual vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings in Beijing, and a protest on the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s transfer from British control to Chinese rule. That protest coincided with the swearing-in of Hong Kong’s new Beijing-backed leader, Leung Chun-ying, on July 1.
The protesters on Sunday, including many young families, blocked off parts of the Causeway Bay commercial area as they inched toward the new government headquarters in the city center. Many felt the changes had been rushed through without public consultation.
Organizers told Hong Kong’s public broadcaster, RTHK, that 90,000 turned out, but the police put the figure at 32,000.
The new curriculum is similar to the so-called patriotic education taught in mainland China. The materials, including a handbook titled “The China Model,” describe the Communist Party as “progressive, selfless and united” and criticize multiparty systems, even though Hong Kong has multiple political parties.
Critics liken the curriculum to brainwashing and say that it glosses over major events like the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square crackdown. It will be introduced in some elementary schools in September and be mandatory for all public schools by 2016.
Talks between the education minister, Eddie Ng, and the National Education Parents’ Concern Group broke down on Saturday. Mr. Ng later denied that the curriculum was akin to brainwashing.
One demonstrator, Elaine Yau, who was there with her 7-year-old daughter, said that people wanted a say in what was taught in the schools. “We feel like we have no choice,” she said.
One point of contention is that many of the city’s governing elite send their children to the West or to expensive foreign-run international schools, which will be exempt from the national education. The curriculum will be mandatory for the public schools used by most of the working and middle classes.
“Not everyone can afford to send their children overseas or to international school,” Ms. Yau added.
Another demonstrator, Claudia Yip, a law student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, held up a banner for the teachers’ union. “Young children really listen to and believe what their teachers say to them,” she said. “Their early role models affect them greatly. Some people say we must have national education, but what kind do we need?”
Before the protest, Jiang Yudui of the pro-Beijing China Civic Education Promotion Association of Hong Kong added fuel to the fire when he told Hong Kong’s residents that the curriculum should “wash their brains.”
“A brain needs washing if there is a problem, just as clothes need washing if they’re dirty, and a kidney needs washing if it’s sick,” he said, according to the local news media.
In response, protesters waved flags showing a cartoon brain with a line crossed through it. “No thought control! Preserve one country, two systems!” they chanted, referring to the agreement that gives Hong Kong political rights that are not allowed on the mainland.
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