China bolsters 'patriotic education' with new law

A crackdown on the highly lucrative world of for-profit private tutoring in 2021 was also seen as part of efforts to reassert ruling party control over the education system.

The moves banned tutoring firms from hiring overseas teachers, with critics saying it was cutting off Chinese children from outside influences.

The new law, which comes into effect on January 1 and was approved on Tuesday, will "strengthen patriotic education in the new era" and seek to impart a "patriotic spirit" in China's youth, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

A Xinhua commentary hailing the law's adoption by Beijing's top lawmaking body said that education had been "facing challenges" recently.

"Some people are at a loss about what is patriotism," the commentary read.

It attacked "the influences of some social thoughts, such as historical nihilism" -- a term often employed by Beijing's leadership to condemn accounts that run contrary to official rhetoric about the party.

The law contains provisions already included in other legislation, the commentary said, including those banning "insulting the national flag and distorting or denying heroes' deeds and spirit".

Zhao Leji, China's top lawmaker, said the law would help the country in "forging a mighty force" to build a "strong" nation, Xinhua reported.

Education has long been used by the Communist Party to boost its legitimacy in the eyes of China's 1.4 billion people.

Much of its narrative centres on its role in conquering absolute poverty and asserting China's position in a hostile international climate.

But conspicuously absent are detailed discussions of the party's role in instigating China's bloody Cultural Revolution and Great Famine, in which millions died.