作者：钟然 编辑：王新叶 责任编辑：鲁慧文
近年来，中国年轻人中涌现大量“小粉红”，他们高喊爱国口号，却分不清国家与中共政权的本质区别。这种盲目狂热并非自发，而是中共精心操控教育体系下的产物。正是中共教育体系中通识教育的缺失，让一代青年丧失独立思考能力，沦为中共巩固统治的工具。
通识教育的价值与中共的压制
通识教育在民主国家如美国、加拿大、英国普遍推行。这些国家通过历史、哲学、法律等课程，同时沟通表达和参与实践活动深化理解，在多学科融合的学习环境下，通过讨论伦理道德、社会现象、法律常识等多方面内容，帮助学生打开多元视角形成独立判断。这种教育注重培养学生批判性思维能力，旨在让学生成为有独立思考能力的现代公民而非盲从的顺民，从而更好地参与建设一个长久自由而繁荣的社会。
反观中国，中共选择了完全相反的道路，中国的教育本质可以简单概括为：理科为经济服务，文科为王权服务。教育被中共政权用于意识形态控制、洗脑和统治的工具。中共的这种教育丧失了教育的启迪思想的意义，成为了一种禁锢头脑的驯化。这种畸形的教育系统旨在把学生培养成对权威绝对忠诚的顺民，而非敢于反思和质疑的公民。
历史篡改：抗日战争的真相被掩盖
以抗日战争（1937-1945）为例，通识教育会将这段历史置于全球背景分析。学生不仅学习中国抗战的全过程，也会探讨国际援助、国共合作、各地民众的牺牲、以及盟军（尤其是美军对日本的战略打击）在胜利中所起的决定性作用。
然而，中国课本却将抗战简化为“中共领导全民胜利”的神话，淡化甚至污蔑国民党作用，忽略甚至不提盟友贡献，一切抗战成果都被归功于中共。中共这种对历史的剪裁与重写，不仅剥夺了青年了解真实历史的权利，更将抗战教育变成了对党的歌功颂德，彻底背离了通识教育应有的求真精神与历史责任。类似这样扭曲的事实在中国学生的课本上比比皆是。
华语通识教育灯塔的覆灭
香港的通识教育曾是华语的通识教育灯塔，点燃了无数独立思想的灵魂。那里的学生通过探讨历史、公民权利和全球议题，学会质疑权威，形成独立判断。例如，2010年代的通识科要求分析六四事件背景，鼓励学生思考抗争与权力的关系。但因为这种教育培养了具有批判精神和公民担当的青年，直接威胁中共的独裁统治，因而被中共刻意摧毁，彻底熄灭了华语世界通识教育的灯塔。
2019年“反送中”运动爆发，大量未成年学生走上街头，高喊“自由”“民主”，北京认定通识教育“煽动叛乱”。2020年《香港国安法》出台，为清洗教育铺路。2021年，香港教育局废除通识科，推出审查严格的“公民与社会发展科”。新课程剔除敏感内容，如公民抗争讨论，代之以“爱国”和“国家认同”的灌输。据2021年香港教育工作者联会调查，超60%的教师表示课堂讨论自由被限制，学生被迫背诵《国安法》条款。自此，香港的批判思维被中共彻底扼杀，自由思想的灯塔被无情熄灭。
“小粉红” 的诞生与网络推波助澜
在扼杀通识教育基础上，中共操控教育体系，让千万中国学生苦读十余载，最终却被塑造成“没有头脑的小粉红”。中共精心设计的愚民教育体系下，他们用机械记忆换取成绩，却从未被教过如何思考；他们习惯背诵权威，却无力质疑权威；他们被灌输“爱国=服从”，却被剥夺了作为公民应有的权利与责任。他们成了专制政权最坚实的盾牌，却也是自己人格独立的最大牺牲品。社交媒体如微博进一步放大这种狂热，城乡青年在网络舆论的裹挟下，陷入群体盲从。城市中产青年受民族主义情绪驱动，农村青年则更多受传统教育影响，但结果都是成为中共的“忠诚盾牌”。这些青年习惯背诵权威答案，却未学会质疑，他们因而也无法成为一个具有独立思考能力的现代公民。
为什么中共不发展通识教育？
通识教育这么多的价值，为什么中共就是不发展呢？——因为中共害怕自由的思想和独立的人格。
一旦有了通识教育，就会有人开始质疑：“为什么不能批评政府？”、“谁来监督权力？”、“公民与国家的关系到底是什么？”——这些会威胁到中共独裁专制统治。因此，通识教育对中共来说不是育人，而是“养敌”，必须彻底根除。
中共教育只能混淆正义与邪恶的界限，将专制政权包装成“唯一正义”，把任何异议和批评污名化为“卖国”、“颠覆”，学生在长期的洗脑教育下接受简单粗暴的“敌我二分法”，被驯化成盲目的粉红，从而盲目跟随中共，不再危胁中共的独裁专制统治。
如何打破中共的教育陷阱？
面对中共的这种控制，我们民间力量也许可以做些什么来改变一点点，打破中共的教育陷阱。比如，海外华人社区和在线平台可以行动起来，提供历史、公民教育等课程，讲述被中共掩盖的历史事实，传播真相；组织讨论会，鼓励青年探讨公民与国家的关系等等，培养青年的批判思维。
教育不是奴役的工具，而是启蒙的利剑。而只有打破中共教育陷阱，才能从中共的洗脑教育中夺回思想主权。这样才能让教育成为点燃思想的火焰，而非驯服忠诚的锁链；从而让中国青年摆脱“小粉红”的桎梏，迎来自由与进步。
The CCP’s Education Trap: How China Manufactures Blind Nationalists (“Little Pinks”)
By: Zhong Ran Editor: Wang Xinye Executive Editor: Lu Huiwen Translator: Lu Huiwen
In recent years, China has seen the rapid rise of a wave of so-called “Little Pinks”—young nationalists who fervently chant patriotic slogans yet fail to distinguish between the Chinese nation and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. This blind fanaticism is not spontaneous; it is the calculated product of the CCP’s tightly controlled education system. The systematic elimination of liberal education in China has deprived a generation of youth of the ability to think independently, reducing them to instruments of authoritarian control.
The Value of Liberal Education vs. CCP Suppression
Liberal or general education is widely embraced in democratic nations such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Through subjects like history, philosophy, and law—along with opportunities for open dialogue and civic engagement—students are exposed to diverse perspectives and taught to develop independent judgment. These curricula aim to cultivate critical thinking, shaping students into informed citizens capable of contributing to a free and prosperous society—not submissive subjects.
In stark contrast, China has taken the opposite path. In essence, the Chinese education system functions as follows: science and technology serve economic productivity, while the humanities serve political control. Education under the CCP has been weaponized as a tool for ideological indoctrination, serving to reinforce loyalty to the regime rather than to awaken minds. The result is a generation trained not to question but to obey.
Historical Distortion: The Truth Behind the War of Resistance
Take the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) as an example. In a liberal education context, students would learn not only about China’s resistance efforts but also the broader international context: the role of foreign aid, the sacrifices of civilians, the complex cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists, and the decisive impact of Allied forces—particularly American military campaigns—in defeating Japan.
In China, however, textbooks have turned the war into a myth of “the Communist Party leading the nation to victory.” The Nationalists’ efforts are downplayed or vilified, and the Allied contribution is nearly erased. This rewriting of history deprives young people of their right to the truth and turns education into propaganda. Countless other distorted narratives pervade Chinese curricula, replacing historical inquiry with political loyalty.
The Fall of Hong Kong: A Beacon of Liberal Education Extinguished
Hong Kong once stood as a beacon of liberal education in the Chinese-speaking world. Students there learned to question authority and explore civic and historical issues critically. For example, liberal studies curricula in the 2010s encouraged students to analyze the context of the Tiananmen Massacre and reflect on the dynamics of protest and power.
Because this education nurtured critical thinkers and socially conscious citizens, it posed a direct threat to CCP authoritarianism—and was swiftly dismantled. After the 2019 Anti-Extradition Movement, in which many high school students took to the streets shouting “freedom” and “democracy,” Beijing blamed liberal education for “inciting rebellion.” The 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law paved the way for an educational purge. In 2021, the Hong Kong Education Bureau abolished liberal studies, replacing it with “Citizenship and Social Development,” a tightly censored course promoting patriotism and national identity.
According to a 2021 survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, over 60% of teachers reported severe restrictions on classroom discussion. Students were forced to memorize clauses of the National Security Law. The CCP had successfully silenced critical thinking in Hong Kong—the torch of liberal education was extinguished.
The Rise of the “Little Pinks” and the Amplification of Online Nationalism
With liberal education destroyed, the CCP’s indoctrination system churns out millions of students who study for over a decade only to become “mindless Little Pinks.” Under this system, academic success comes through rote memorization, not critical thinking. Students are trained to recite authority but not question it. They are taught that patriotism means obedience, while being stripped of the rights and responsibilities of true citizenship. These youth become the regime’s most loyal defenders—and the greatest casualties of its assault on intellectual autonomy.
Social media platforms like Weibo amplify this fervor. Urban middle-class youth, driven by manipulated nationalist sentiment, and rural youth, shaped by rigid traditional education, all fall under the sway of online echo chambers. They know how to repeat official narratives but lack the tools to think independently. They cannot become modern citizens—only ideological foot soldiers.
Why Won’t the CCP Embrace Liberal Education?
If liberal education is so beneficial, why does the CCP resist it?
Because the Party fears free thought and independent minds.
Liberal education leads people to ask dangerous questions:
“Why can’t we criticize the government?”
“Who holds power accountable?”
“What is the true relationship between citizen and state?”
These questions threaten authoritarian rule. To the CCP, liberal education does not cultivate citizens—it breeds “enemies.” Hence, it must be eliminated.
The CCP’s education instead seeks to confuse the lines between justice and oppression, presenting authoritarianism as the sole form of righteousness. All dissent and criticism are vilified as “subversion” or “betrayal.” Students are subjected to years of ideological conditioning and trained to see the world in black-and-white terms—friend or foe. The result is an obedient generation, blindly loyal to the Party, devoid of critical thought.
How Can We Break the CCP’s Educational Trap?
Despite this bleak reality, grassroots efforts can begin to chip away at the CCP’s education trap.
Overseas Chinese communities and digital platforms can take the lead by offering independent courses in history and civic education, revealing suppressed truths and spreading real knowledge. They can organize public forums that encourage young people to reflect on the nature of citizenship, democracy, and human rights—helping cultivate the critical thinking skills that the CCP seeks to destroy.
Education should not be a tool of submission but a weapon of enlightenment. Only by breaking free from the CCP’s ideological machinery can Chinese youth reclaim their intellectual sovereignty. Only then can education become a flame that ignites thought, not a chain that enslaves loyalty.
And only then can young people escape the grip of blind nationalism and step into a future of liberty and progress.
