Students learn importance of state security

Special activities organized for start of new school year to raise awareness

Each year, schools up and down the country organize special activities to mark the beginning of the new semester, teaching their freshmen general knowledge such as traffic or fire safety. This year, many schools chose to teach their students about national security awareness.

At Chengdu No 7 High School in Sichuan province, more than 1,000 secondary school students were taught about patriotism, collectivism and tenacity by officers from the Sichuan Provincial Department of State Security.

They were taught how to understand national security, how to identify behaviors that may endanger national security and what to do if they encounter such behavior.

"I never thought that our daily life could be so closely connected to national security, the economy, culture and technology," said one student surnamed Li. "It is so cool that as a young student, I can also contribute to safeguarding national security."

In Zaozhuang, Shandong province, dozens of primary and middle school students visited the national security education center.

They watched documentaries on national security and viewed exhibitions. A quiz was held by center staff and the questions included places where they cannot take photos and what kinds of information are not suitable to post on social media.

In Tianjin, students and teachers from Nankai University participated in a performance centered around revolutionary Xiao Minghua (1922-1950), who was a secret agent for the Communist Party of China during the War of Liberation (1946-49).

The performance will be uploaded to Tianjin's official online education platform for all university students in the city to view for free.

A student surnamed Zhang played Xiao in the drama and she said the experience gave her the opportunity to immerse herself in the sacrifice that the hero and other martyrs made. "I was shocked and lessons have been learned. I will promote the knowledge of national security to more students," she said.