Hong Kong officials have singled out at least two schools for singing the Chinese national anthem “too softly”.
Teachers at a third school have been asked to help students “cultivate habit and confidence” in singing it.
Hong Kong has redoubled the emphasis on “patriotic” education since 2020 when China cracked down on the city’s pro-democracy movement.
Officials said students’ voices at the Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Primary School were “soft and weak” and “should be strengthened”. At Yan Chai Hospital Lim Por Yen Secondary School, teachers were told to “help students develop the habit of singing the national anthem loudly in unison”.
Believe it or not, there’s nothing wrong with telling someone to sing more loudly.
In a normal context, I would agree with you but when louder singing is enforced by the State then I take issue with that.
Is your principal not elected by the school board (a municipal government)? A superintendent?
I’d go in a different direction - requiring someone to sing your national anthem is wrong. It’s wrong when the U.S. do it, it’s wrong when Canada does, it’s wrong when China does it.
I find national pride hard to understand, but forced displays of national pride are really iffy.
Fair enough. I’m just saying that the fact that this is an article in the first place is because of “China bad,” not because it’s anything unique or special.