Textbook ban a bad move
The mainland government wants to ban textbooks which promote Western values and "brainwash" university students. I don't support this idea.
This issue mirrors the controversy over the national education curriculum in Hong Kong.
Banning textbooks that spread Western values only goes to show that Beijing is still not "fully open" to the world. It is still determined to control people's lives and clamp down on their freedoms. I believe that if the central government is given an inch, they will take a mile. What will they do next?
The fact is that studies on social sciences require a nod to Western values, so a ban on these textbooks makes little sense.
I feel that this "cold war" mindset may be unhealthy for China's development, especially if the country is hoping to improve the education level of its population.
I hope that Beijing will relax its censorship rules so that people could be better connected to the world.
Eddy Fung, Law Ting Pong Secondary School
From the Editor
Thank you for your letter, Eddie. It seems that China goes through periods of closing itself off to the world and then re-emerging and closing again. Are we going through another of those "bamboo curtain" periods? It would seem impossible, given the financial traffic flowing in and out of China.
It does not bode well for the mainland's future if, once again, China becomes the introvert on the world stage. We can only watch and be thankful and really value the freedoms we have in Hong Kong.
Susan, Editor