China News Agency, Hong Kong, December 31st, title: Looking forward to building the "Belt and Road" in the education sector - an interview with Wu Huanjie, the principal of Hong Kong Peiqiao Middle School
China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong
Many years ago, Pei Kiu Middle School in Hong Kong held a weekly flag-raising ceremony, and all teachers and students in the school played and sang the national anthem together.
Schools would post the national anthem on the walls, and students would stare at the words as they sang.
"This has a very good effect on what the student will do in the future as a Chinese teenager and what kind of expectations the country will bear." Wu Huanjie, the principal of Peiqiao Middle School, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency recently.
Looking back on the impact and harm brought about by the social incidents in 2019 on the education sector, Wu Huanjie bluntly said that this highlights the lack of Hong Kong in the field of national education in the past.
He does not agree that national security issues are too esoteric for students. The key is where to start. A law-abiding awareness as simple as "stop at a red light and go at a green light" can form the foundation of national security.
"So if you know our country and understand it, you will know how to protect it. This is a process, starting from young children."
Wu Huanjie, the principal of Peiqiao Middle School in Hong Kong, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency recently that this has a very good effect on the students as a Chinese teenager, what he will do in the future, and what expectations the country will bear.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yongnuo
In recent years, the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has carried out drastic reforms, including abolishing the controversial general education subject, and supporting schools to promote national education in multiple ways. To encourage teachers to consciously abide by the professional ethics and code of conduct, to protect the well-being of students, protect the education profession, and maintain national security and social order.
"This has given the education sector a very professional guide, clearly highlighting a boundary, including what to do in teacher training, what teachers can't do in class, and how education in Hong Kong will develop in the future." In Wu Huanjie's view, After the society returns to calm, education is facing some more practical development problems, including insufficient school enrollment, and due to the saturation of traditional industries, the direction of school talent training needs to be changed urgently.
Consistent with the SAR government’s efforts to promote the development of innovation and technology and “grab talents” abroad in recent years, Wu Huanjie also believes that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education must be promoted in schools, and excellent students should be introduced through Hong Kong’s high-quality educational resources , because the talents that Hong Kong needs in the future must have a world outlook and innovation and technology capabilities.
"Hong Kong is still the window of the motherland to the outside world. Whether Hong Kong students study abroad or introduce talents, they are relatively free and attractive." He mentioned that this city with a population of more than 7 million has 5 world-renowned hotels. Strong universities, 16 state key laboratories, and 6 Hong Kong branch centers of national engineering technology research centers.
Wu Huanjie, the principal of Peiqiao Middle School in Hong Kong, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency recently that this has a very good effect on the students as a Chinese teenager, what he will do in the future, and what expectations the country will bear.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yongnuo
From this, Wu Huanjie saw the unique position of Peiqiao Middle School. As a school that initially mainly recruited students from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and helped them understand the national conditions, it can continue to use its advantages in the network of overseas Chinese to tell them Chinese stories and Hong Kong stories. ; Internally, contact with sister schools, so that the values of peers can influence each other.
According to Wu Huanjie, at present, Peiqiao Middle School has formed a sister school with more than 20 schools in the Mainland. "Sometimes it may not be serious academic activities, but actually play ball and participate in extracurricular activities together. I hope that through this kind of pairing, peers can interact with each other. Teachers can also conduct professional exchanges and learn from each other.”
In the future, his eyes fell on outward expansion.
"We can communicate more with ASEAN countries, starting from the 'Belt and Road', and carry out cooperation and exchanges with the 'Belt and Road' countries." Wu Huanjie hopes that Peiqiao Middle School can build a good link between overseas Chinese, "Belt and Road" countries and The bridge between the region and the mainland of China, on the one hand, promotes Hong Kong’s education system and curriculum to the outside world, so that the children of overseas Chinese, students from ASEAN and “Belt and Road” countries can increase their confidence in Hong Kong’s education and choose to study in Hong Kong, and on the other hand, it also helps them pass Hong Kong’s Study courses and exchange activities to keep pace with the development of the Mainland.
Although this is only a preliminary idea, Wu Huanjie believes that there is a lot to be done.
"I believe that talents all over the world will see the professional guidelines issued by the Education Bureau, Hong Kong's own rules and regulations, and various resources. Once talents come, they will definitely make creative contributions to Hong Kong's industries." (End)