Why Are the Liberal Studies Textbooks That Stigmatized China Spread in Hong Kong? A Textual Analysis from Foucauldian Order of Discourse

ABSTRACT

Liberal studies (LS) textbooks used in Hong Kong public secondary schools have incurred controversy regarding perceived biased contents; however, what appears uncertain are what techniques the textbooks used to incite hostility towards the mainland of China and encourage students to participate in violent acts in Hong Kong. The present study used Michel Foucault’s order of discourse theory, particularly the “division and rejection” framework regarding the power of discourse to analyze five popular LS textbooks. The findings reveal that the textbooks depict a division between the fabricated irrational image of the mainland and the rational image of Hong Kong. Specifically, the textbooks paint Chinese patriotism as irrational while encouraging the student readers to reject their Chinese identity. The textbooks also create a division between altruistic and capable civilians and passive, silent ones, with the morality of the former being connected to violence and radicalism. In this way, the textbooks produce a discourse of hostility towards the mainland and the people in the mainland while encouraging violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Liberal studies
• textbook analysis
• Hong Kong
• indoctrination
• Foucault

Acknowledgements

We appreciate Dr. Paul Stapleton’s suggestions and proofreading.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In 2009, the liberal studies began as a compulsory course for middle school students in Hong Kong. Students need to pass an exam of this course in order to enter university. The course has six themes, i.e. personal development and interpersonal relationships, Hong Kong today, modern China, globalization, public health, and energy technology and the environment. Liberal studies serve as the citizenship and national education in Hong Kong. In the past, the Education Bureau adopted an unconstrained measure in supervising liberal studies, not appointing any official textbooks and not reviewing any existing textbooks, so teachers could choose any course books published by any commercial publishers. Such an unconstrained manner created opportunities for publishers and textbook writers from different political standpoints to get involved in writing liberal studies textbooks, which may have triggered later controversies.

2 Moral and Civic Education was proposed by the Hong Kong Education Bureau in 2012. The course aimed at promoting Hong Kong students’ “respect for others,” “responsibility,” “national identity,” “commitment,” “integrity,” “care for others,” “law-abidingness” and “empathy.” However, this course became controversial as it teaches Chinese “national identity,” which has been labeled as having biases towards the Chinese Communist Party and triggered protests, hunger strikes, the occupation of public areas, and other activities to coerce the government to withdraw the course.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yulong Li

Yulong Li is an assistant professor at the City University of Macau. He obtained his PhD from the Education University of Hong Kong. His research interests include educational philosophy, sociology and critical education.

Yuxi Wu

Yuxi Wu is an assistant professor at the City University of Macau. She holds a doctoral degree in applied linguistics from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her interest lies in critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics.