Frank Ching:

The Basic Law stipulates that the Hong Kong government shall “on its own, formulate policies on the development and improvement of education”. Yet the idea of national education, which is arousing such controversy, was evidently conceived not by the government here. It was proposed in Beijing by President Hu Jintao .
At a dinner on June 30, 2007, the president suggested to Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who was to be sworn in as chief executive the following day, that Hong Kong “should put more emphasis on national education for the youth”.