Textbooks misleading young people in HK

Three male and two female suspects－the youngest being 15, while the oldest is 18－are what we generally call "children".

Yet these children are suspected of killing a 70-year-old street cleaner by throwing hard objects at him on Nov 13, during the riots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

On Friday, all five were arrested by Hong Kong police, with inquiries underway for new clues and evidence. If sufficient evidence is found against them, they could face criminal charges.

Justice must be done, and anyone who causes another person's death must be held responsible for his or her deeds. However, while calling for justice, we also should feel deep regret for the five young men and women, whose future would be bright had they not participated in the riots.

By involving a large number of young people and turning them into violent tools, the forces behind the Hong Kong riots are destroying the future of Hong Kong. By Dec 9, Hong Kong police had detained 6,022 suspects, of whom 40 percent are students.

Had these young people not participated in the riots, they could have worn a tie and talked confidently about business with customers from around the world. Now, even those found innocent will find their future darkened because they missed out on education for so long.

Brainwashing by certain textbooks in Hong Kong has been blamed in part for bringing young people to the abyss.

According to media reports, these textbooks are full of bias－and even hate－against the motherland China.

The Chinese mainland, which is prospering, has been described in these books as a place of ignorance and poverty. The Hong Kong police who protect Hong Kong people's lives and safety have been described as "corrupt" and "evil".

Some reportedly stress that underage people are given lighter penalties for crimes, which has widely been blamed for encouraging young people to join the protests.

It is not an exaggeration to say that some textbooks in Hong Kong are depriving the special administrative region of its future by misleading its young people.

It's time for Hong Kong to reconsider its education policy, especially that related to textbooks.