ABSTRACT
In August–September 2012, there was an outburst of protests and hunger strikes against the Hong Kong government’s attempt to enforce Moral and National Education as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools (Education Bureau [EDB], 2012c). The policy was seen as a brainwashing attempt by the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing to control the thinking of Hong Kong people through education and schooling. Under strong public pressure to withdraw the subject, the Hong Kong government gave way and announced that:
school-sponsoring bodies and schools can exercise their discretion to decide whether to implement the subject, whether the subject should be introduced as an independent subject and … determine the modes and schedule for its implementation. (EDB, 2012b)
