Tomorrow will mark the 81st anniversary of the May Fourth Movement. A territory-wide survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups found that about 60 per cent of young people were proud of being Chinese. More than half of respondents said that China’s culture and tradition made them feel proud in China. Another 20 per cent and 18 per cent of respondents were of the view that “family-orientation” and “having a long and rich culture” were the two major positive features of the Chinese race. 23 per cent of respondents considered “selfishness and greed” the major negative feature of the Chinese race.

Regarding the school curriculum, an overwhelming majority, or 88 per cent of respondents agreed to that Chinese history should be a core subject for junior forms. Another 60 per cent of respondents opposed combining Chinese history and world history into one subject.

In evaluating their own understanding of Contemporary Chinese History on a scale of 0 to 10, some 7 per cent of respondents said that they did not have any knowledge. The remaining respondents showed some understanding, with an average of 4.4 points. When compared with Chinese Contemporary History, more than 60 per cent of respondents said that they preferred Ancient Chinese History.

The telephone poll, conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups from 17 to 20 and 25 April, successfully interviewed 503 young people aged between 15 and 29.

The survey found that 57 per cent of respondents had no interest in Chinese history. Among them, more than half attributed the reason to being bored of its content. Around 40 per cent of respondents had some interest, mainly because they wanted to learn more about the country. Television was found to be the most popular source in arousing the interest of respondents. In addition, the survey showed that respondents were divided over whether one should feel ashamed at not knowing the history of China. Some 52 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement, while 47 per cent thought otherwise.

More than 35 per cent of respondents believed that the cultivation of one's national identity or one's thinking and analytical skills were the most important aspects in learning history. A further 30 per cent believed that the stimulation of one’s interests in history should be the first priority.

The Federation said that the survey indicated that respondents generally recognized the importance of learning Chinese history in junior forms. The Federation believed that a flexible and lively method of teaching would help young people develop an interest in history.

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