“Hong Kong Has Always Been a Part of China”: Analysis of the Hong Kong History Discourse in Hong Kong Chinese History Subject

Abstract This article examines how Chinese history education in Hong Kong seeks to construct young people’s identification with Chinese governance. Employing textbook-based discourse analysis as its primary research methodology, the study analyses Chinese history textbooks published by several major publishers. It establishes a clear link between history education and the construction of national identity, demonstrating how multiple stakeholders have transformed Chinese history education into a mechanism of national education. By analysing the representation of Hong Kong’s past within the broader context of modern Chinese society, the article reveals the strong political and ideological orientations embedded in these historical narratives. Through a detailed comparative discourse analysis of different textbook editions, the study illustrates how Hong Kong history is framed through Mainland-centered historical perspectives and incorporated into a Chinese nationalist narrative presented as pedagogically appropriate and authoritative. The textbooks’ portrayal of the “historical relationship” between Hong Kong and China constructs a discourse of “historical legitimacy,” through which China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong is naturalised and reinforced. In doing so, the curriculum and textbooks actively shape students’ understanding of national identity, encouraging the internalisation of a Chinese political and historical identity aligned with contemporary governance.