A set of mainland-produced books is being sent to all Hong Kong schools as part of an official plan to foster national identity, although teachers worry the new materials will instil a narrow sense of patriotism.

“My Home is in China” contains 48 books on six themes from an introduction to major Chinese cities to its ethnic diversity, but it also touches upon controversial topics such as “One Belt One Road” and aboriginal people in Taiwan. It was first written in simplified Chinese characters by scholars at Beijing Normal University, but a version of the box set written in traditional Chinese is being delivered to all Hong Kong schools starting as early as Friday.

A reading of the original, simplified version found that its content is replete with sensational rhetoric, markedly different from the fact-oriented approach of the city’s existing history curriculum.

Among the topics, readers are told how Portuguese colonists “cannibalized” Macau in the 16th century, and how that southern city became an international city after its handover in 1999. It also provides an introduction to street names in Taiwan, stressing the fact that many are named after mainland Chinese cities.

One chapter claims Taiwan’s aboriginal people, the Ketagalan, “have long been” integrated with Chinese Han people.

As for Hong Kong, the famous Taoist Wong Tai Sin temple is introduced with an emphasis on its mainland connection: the deity celebrated by the temple originally came from Zhejiang province. A chapter also encourages readers to support the “One Belt One Road” initiative, listing its “perks” including economic benefits and convenience in travel.

According to Apple Daily, the box set is a reference book to be used in activities organized by the Young Pioneers of China, a youth organization run by the Communist Party-led Communist Youth League. One line reads: “Hong Kong will prosper in the warm embrace of the motherland.”

It is unclear whether the traditional Chinese version will be exactly the same as the simplified Chinese set. However, critics slammed the high-profile distribution of the books in schools, saying they might foster a narrow sense of nationalism and ignore critical thinking.

Tin Fong-chak, a vice president of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, said although the books are listed as “supplementary” on the school curriculum, teachers may face pressure to use them since they have been endorsed by the authorities.

Hans Yeung, a former marker of history exams in schools, said the authors have over-emphasized Macao’s reunification with mainland China as a reflection of national strength. At the same time, he noted, they played down the 19th-century annexation of a vast swathe of northern China by the Russian empire, including today’s Vladivostok, after China’s defeat by European powers.

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