Hong Kong residents slam China8217;s efforts to 8216;brainwash8217; kids

Though the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997,Hong Kong locals have at times continued to feel alienated from their mainland counterparts.

According to the Wall Street Journal,just days before Hong Kong8217;s new school year begins,thousands of people protested to express their dissatisfaction over the government8217;s plan.

Parents argue that the government had failed to convince them that moral and national education would promote a balanced picture of Chinas history.

They8217;re just giving us one side,but not everything is just good or bad. You can8221;t use just one side to educate your children, the paper quoted Andy Tsoi,who was attending the protest with his 7-year-old daughter,as saying.

While the government agreed earlier this year to delay plans for mandatory implementation of the curriculum until 2015,it has insisted that plans for moral and national education will continue to move forward.

Earlier this year,the government provoked anger by funding a pamphlet that praised China8217;s one-party state,as well as trips for local students to visit Mao Zedong8217;s hometown.

Nearly 90,000 demonstrators took to the streets in July to protest government support for national and moral education.