Lee Ka-kui, chairman of the Hong Kong Publishing Federation. Photo: Courtesy of Xing Baohua

Handing out publications with positive values for Hong Kong youth is an urgent task, said Lee Ka-kui, chairman of the Hong Kong Publishing Federation, on Wednesday, noting that some youngsters lack understanding of the values promoted by their motherland. 

The ongoing violent protests in Hong Kong have made many people in Hong Kong's publishing industry reflect that it is pressing to give young people in Hong Kong more publications of positive values, Lee said on Wednesday at the 26th Beijing International Book Fair.

The publications should be designed for different age groups, said Lee. 

Many media outlets and analysts also hold Hong Kong's general education accountable for its recent chaotic situation.

High school textbooks and examination papers in Hong Kong were exposed to have contents which publicly supported the 2014 Occupy Central Movement and challenged certain policies of the central government, local media reported.

Recently, Lü Zi, a netizen from Macao, another special administrative region of China, which shares a similar culture and history with Hong Kong, posted a video online showing that textbooks she used in school are the same as textbooks used by students in the Chinese mainland. 

Those books explained Chinese history and knowledge of China's diplomacy. One textbook talked about citizens' responsibility, to help students form proper and positive values.

Lü Zi said that except for some missionary schools and international schools, most schools use those textbooks.

The video has won overwhelming support in the Chinese mainland. Many said that thanks to such education, Macao has better integration and closer ties with its motherland than Hong Kong, and has a more rational view of violent protests. 

Some radical Hong Kong protesters previously tried to incite Macao people to join and support them, and even cajole them to challenge the central government, but they only met with criticism from the people of Macao. 

Lee said bookstores in Hong Kong have been hit hard by violent protests in summer, which is usually the busiest time for book sales. 

Hong Kong's publication industry has always played a special role in the Chinese-language publication field, as it can integrate the cultures in the East and West well. But it needs to learn from its peers in the mainland as the mainland's publication industry has developed fast, Lee said.