Chief Secretary Eric Chan said on Monday that a "soft sell" approach will be adopted when it comes to promoting patriotism in Hong Kong. Chan, who chairs the new Working Group on Patriotic Education, said the group is aimed at integrating patriotism into core values of the community, but this will not involve "hard sell" tactics. "Patriotism is not something that can be learnt by repeating from memory. Getting to understand is the first step. The ultimate goal is to achieve emotional identification. Sincerely identify with the country, feel proud of the country and then consciously love and protect the country," Chan told reporters after an inaugural meeting of the working group. Chan said the group will make reference to the mainland's patriotic education law and come up with appropriate and suitable proposals for the SAR. But he said the government has no plans to legislate patriotism and will rely on policies and activities to promote it. Chan also said the government will organise various activities and celebrations in the run-up to October's 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, to enable young people to learn more about their country.
