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Chan Ho-him

First-year students at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University (PolyU) will learn about the Beijing-imposed national security law and the history of the “humiliation” of China as part of a compulsory course on leadership qualities, according to senior management.
Associate vice-president Professor Daniel Shek Tan-lei said on Monday students needed to be shaped into “law-abiding leaders” and he did not see any “erosion in academic freedom” under the legislation that came into effect in June of last year.
“To be an effective leader, you need to obey the law and follow the regulations,” Shek said.

Under the law, which bans acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, the government is required to promote national security in schools and universities.
PolyU, along with Baptist, Lingnan and Education universities, has already announced compulsory requirements for students to learn about national security in the form of seminars, talks or lectures.
The city’s four other publicly funded universities – the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Chinese University and City University – have not yet revealed their plans.
Shek said a three-hour lecture on national security and other relevant aspects of China’s constitution and the Basic Law – the city’s mini-constitution – would be taught to first-year students beginning this semester.
The university in Hung Hom, which has about 15,000 undergraduates, was one of several campuses that were severely damaged in intense clashes between protesters and police during the 2019 social unrest.
“Our understanding is that it does not make sense for us just to teach the national security law,” Shek said. “We will cover a bit from modern Chinese history and also the humiliation history of China, and also the history of Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong lecturers review university syllabuses, move to protect student freedoms
The lecture would also touch on court cases relating to the security law, including the first one, which involved a 24-year-old sentenced to nine years in prison for terrorism and incitement to commit secession after he rode his motorcycle into several police officers last year while flying a flag calling for Hong Kong’s liberation. Students might also discuss whether the security law has undermined freedoms or if the city’s legislation is “particularly harsh” compared to similar laws in other places globally.
They will have to complete a multiple-choice test and those who fail must retake it.
Student union president Alan Wu Wai-kuen said he believed many students were concerned about the new requirement and noted substantial details about the course had still not been released even though the semester had already started.
“For instance, who will be teaching these courses and how will they be trained? And what if different lecturers have different approaches or interpretations relating to the national security law or relevant court cases?” he said.


Some critics and academics have previously raised concerns over freedoms being eroded on campus under the security law.
PolyU was among at least six universities that have distanced themselves from their student unions by no longer collecting fees from students for their funding. University management last month told its student press to remove hundreds of copies of its magazine that touched on freedoms under the security law.
Shek said he did not see any erosion of academic freedom at PolyU and topics such as Hong Kong independence could still be approached by scholars if the research was done “in an academic manner” and with the “harmful consequences” also discussed.
The university also said they had not seen a “particularly high” number of teaching staff or students leaving as compared to previous years.
PolyU tells student union to take magazine off shelves over ‘inappropriate’ content
PolyU’s senior management also announced plans to become the first local university to introduce an admissions system in the next academic year, in which most students will apply to a department instead of a programme in their first year. They will select their majors the following year.
The university said the new arrangement was aimed at allowing students more time and flexibility to gain a better understanding about their interests before choosing the path they would take.


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Hong Kong national security law (NSL)

Hong Kong’s PolyU to teach national security law and history of ‘humiliation’ of China in course on leadership qualities

Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom. Photo: Jonathan Wong

(L to R) PolyUâs Registra Edward Shen, Vice President (Education) Wong Kwok-yin, and Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme) Daniel Shek, speaking at a presser on the enhancement undergraduate curriculum at PolyU. 20SEP21 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong teachers will draw on protests, court cases to highlight need for lawfulness in course replacing liberal studies

A classroom in HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Mr. Hung Tak-ming teaches a liberal studies class at HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School in Kwun Tong.14SEP21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Pui Kiu Middle School citizenship and social development teacher Eddie Ting Kong-ho holding teaching materials for the revamped liberal studies subject. 18SEP21 SCMP/ Thomas Chan

National security law: Hong Kong’s PolyU tells student union to take magazine off shelves over ‘inappropriate’ content

Hong Kong Polytechnic University demanded its student union pull the latest issue of its magazine from shelves. Photo: Thomas Yau

PolyUÕs student union press committee publication ÒPolylife 50.1Ó touched on the shrinking freedoms under the Beijing-imposed national security law.  HANDOUT PHOTO

Police enter building on University of Hong Kong campus and cordon off area outside on Friday afternoon.National security police have raided the student unions office at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as part of an investigation into leaders of the body who passed a motion appreciating the sacrifice16Jul21  SCMP / Felix Wong

National security law: Tiananmen vigil organiser in Hong Kong closes website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts

The June 4 vigil was banned in Hong Kong over the past two years on public health grounds. Photo: Dickson Lee

Albert Ho Chun-yan (centre, reading from paper), Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, speaks at the June 4th Candle Light Vigil, marking the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. 04JUN19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

(L-R) Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chun-yan of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China at a press call at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Hong Kong Police have officially banned the city's annual vigil for the first time in 30 years, citing ongoing social-distancing measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 01JUN20 SCMP/ Winson Wong

Hong Kong’s national security legislation ‘mild compared to the West’, says new head of city’s Law Society, as he reiterates confidence in legal system

The new president of the Law Society, Chan Chak-ming. Photo: Nora Tam

A silhouette of a man is seen in front of a banner promoting the National Security Law, Central. 22JUN20 SCMP / Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

Education


A lecture will cover the new law, China’s constitution, Hong Kong’s Basic Law and aspects of the nation’s history
But student union president says many undergraduates are concerned about the content and notes many details have not been released



A lecture will cover the new law, China’s constitution, Hong Kong’s Basic Law and aspects of the nation’s history.


Hong Kong’s PolyU to teach national security law and history of ‘humiliation’ of China in course on leadership qualities

A lecture will cover the new law, China’s constitution, Hong Kong’s Basic Law and aspects of the nation’s history But student union president says many undergraduates are concerned about the content and notes many details have not been released

A lecture will cover the new law, China’s constitution, Hong Kong’s Basic Law and aspects of the nation’s history

But student union president says many undergraduates are concerned about the content and notes many details have not been released