CCTV Special Takes Aim At Pro-democracy Campaigners

State television has published a special two-part report on last year's social unrest in Hong Kong, highlighting its damage to the city. There's also criticism of several well-known opposition figures for their involvement.

The first part of the CCTV report, "Another Hong Kong", details what triggered the anti-extradition movement and how it evolved into violent protests from June last year. The 30-minute episode, titled "Chaos of Hong Kong", interviewed the Maxim's heiress Annie Wu, former public prosecutor Grenville Cross and British legal experts, as well as local Hong Kong people.

Wu said Hong Kong is a blissful city that will always have the country's backing.

Maxim's has been a target of demonstrators after Wu spoke out against the protests.

Cross said many people did not understand the issues behind the now-withdrawn extradition bill, and spoke about "a highly orchestrated scare campaign" against it.

In the second part of the series, "Where does the wind come from?", it focuses on four prominent pro-democracy figures – Jimmy Lai, Anson Chan, Martin Lee and Albert Ho – as well as younger activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law. It highlighted their ties with the US officials and politicians, and how they incited ordinary people to take to the streets.

The episode goes on to talk about the education system in Hong Kong, saying it is "sick". It said the system was biased when it comes to two secondary school subjects, Liberal Studies and Chinese History, while basic national education was inadequate.

It also takes aim at the Professional Teachers' Union, saying it's controlled by people with ulterior motives. It said Hong Kong's largest teachers' union not only organised street protests but also encouraged students to take to the streets to express their political views.

At the end of the nearly 40-minute episode, it says Hong Kong needs to consider its relations with the mainland under One Country, Two Systems.

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