People attend a flag raising ceremony at a middle school in Yuen Long of New Territories, Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 11, 2019. The Association of Hong Kong Flag-guards held a flag raising ceremony at a middle school on Sunday. (Photo: Xinhua)

Several Hong Kong legislators and political advisors to the National People's Congress (NPC) and political advisors to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have proposed further strengthening patriotic education in Hong Kong at the ongoing two sessions, with the Special Administrative Region (SAR) seeing the 25th anniversary of its return to China this year.

Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, standing committee member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, noted in a proposal sent to the Global Times that Hong Kong should further deepen and systematize the patriotic education system, not only in schools, but also across the whole of society.

"This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return, which is a good opportunity to carry out patriotic education in Hong Kong in an all-round and in-depth way," he said.

It was suggested that a panel of experts could be set up to jointly develop the curriculum, so that the classes are compatible with both the spirit of patriotism and the actual situation in Hong Kong, said Choi, who is also chairman of the Guangdong-HK-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs

In his proposal, he also pointed out the need to strengthen communication between teachers from the mainland and Hong Kong, which could be achieved by setting up "workshops" for them to share experiences, and establishing an exchange system for young people from the mainland and the SAR in areas including entrepreneurship, art, sports, science and technological innovation.

Wong Kwan-yu, a deputy to the NPC and chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of education workers, noted that teachers are the key to patriotic education in schools and suggested that "political identity" should be included in the professional requirements of teachers.

He said he visited more than 40 schools in Hong Kong last year, meeting more than 2,000 teachers and found that many of them have a vague concept of the nation and cannot clearly understand the significance of China for Hong Kong. He said this situation should not be carried to the next generation in Hong Kong, according to a report by Wenweipo.

Hong Kong has carried out patriotic education in schools in recent years, such as adding national education content to school curricula, launching courses related to national security, and promoting campus flag-raising activities.

Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, a CPPCC National Committee member and a lawmaker in the 7th-term LegCo, said that the youth patriotism activities in Hong Kong should place more emphasis on education about the national anthem and flag as they are symbols of the country and should be respected by every citizen, Peoples Daily reported.

In addition to schools, there should also be a long-term education plan for civil servants in the SAR government under the "HK patriots governing HK" drive, some NPC deputies noted.

Henry Cai Yi, a deputy to the NPC and chairman of Hong Kong Island Federation, proposed that civil servants should receive more training to get a comprehensive understanding of Chinas national conditions and policies, especially the Constitution, the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the National Security Law for Hong Kong and other laws, China News reported.