The new school year will start in China on Wednesday with a renewed national curriculum that incorporates the ideas of President Xi Jinping. Chinese children already received nationalistic and political lessons, but they were less focused on Xi’s ideas and ideas.
Elementary school children, schoolchildren and college students will learn about the political ideology of the president, who, since 2018, no longer has to abide by maximum terms in office and can therefore continue to rule indefinitely. The government says the curriculum is “planting seeds of love for the communist party, the country and socialism in young hearts”.
Elementary education textbooks include chapters on the achievements of Chinese civilization and the role of the communist party in the fight against poverty and the coronavirus. They also contain quotes from Xi and anecdotes about the president. “Grandfather Xi Jinping is very busy with work. But, no matter how busy he is, he still participates in our activities and cares about our growth,” one of the books reads.
The communist party usually adopts the ideologies of Chinese leaders, but it is not common for their names to be associated with them for the long term, as is now the case with Xi. According to the BBC, only Mao Zedong, the founder of present-day China, and Deng Xiaoping preceded him.