On August 18, 2019, in London of the UK, more than 100 local overseas Chinese societies formed an alliance and held a rally to guard Hong Kong, calling for saying no to violence and protecting Hong Kong.

These days, people loving the nation and Hong Kong from around the world came together to support Hong Kong to curb violence and restore order sooner. In the fervor, the performance of patriotic youth was eye-catching. Groups such as fan girls and net friends fought against Hong Kong secessionists in different social media of the world. Chinese students studying in foreign lands such as Australia, Germany, the UK and the US went to the street to fight for justice and peace. They displayed their stance clearly in a well-grounded and lovely way, made their voice heard and showed the real opinions of Chinese people to the world. The Color Revolution plotted by foreign forces against China thus fell flat frequently.

Then, where does the source of such a clear and strong national identity for this generation of youth come from? First, the contemporary youth are born in an era when China is a major country and have benefited from the development bonus of the nation. Second, they have opened their horizons in the world and have also observed the world closely, so they can realize that foreign countries are not necessarily better than China. Third, they have received patriotism education since their childhood. The first sentence in the student rules of primary and secondary schools is “Love the motherland, love the people”. What is sown by education in the heart of students is vital to the question “what kind of talents are cultivated”. They know that it is important to understand and respect the history, which naturally leads to their national identity.

What is happening in Hong Kong today warns us once again that a clear national identity and a sense of cultural belonging are extremely vital to social peace and stable development. In this point, Hong Kong needs to deeply reflect on its national education.

Executive Editor: Ke Ye

Translation: Ke Ye, Wenjin Chen