HONG KONG — In a city that prides itself on being the most free-thinking outpost of China, a new, pro-Beijing education policy has people worried that their identity is coming under threat.

Last month, nearly 90,000 teachers, parents, and students flooded the streets to oppose a policy that will require all public-school students to take classes that promote “building national harmony” with mainland China.

The uproar was inflamed by news that the Hong Kong government spent $12 million to produce color pamphlets that hail the Communist Party as a “progressive, selfless, and united ruling group,” while characterizing American democracy as a “malignant party struggle” that brings “disaster to the people.” Thirty-thousand copies of the booklets were distributed to local schools this summer.

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