China Daily Weekly - 09.08.2019

R

iotersinHongKong

arerunningrampant.

Ringleadersoftherabble

rousersareencouraging

youngsterstotaketothestreets—

withextremistsstormingbuildings

ofadministrativeandlegislative

bodies.

Theiractionsaredisrupting

HongKong’slawandorder,affect-

ingbusinesses,andseriously

underminingthecity’seconomic

andsocialconditionsalongwithits

internationalimage.Interestingly,

thosewhohaveincitedtheseriots

embraceanentirelydifferentatti-

tudetowardtheirchildren’spoliti-

calengagement.

AccordingtoHongKong-based

newspaperTaKungPao,while

differentsectorsofthesocietyare

stronglycondemningviolentbehav-

iors,noneofthechildrenofthering-

leaders,suchasJimmyLaiChee-

yingandMartinLeeChu-ming,

haveevertakentothestreets,with

mostofthembeingshieldedfrom

anypoliticalinvolvement.Unlike

therioters,theiroffspringhavebeen

arrangedtostudy,workandlive

peacefullyinforeigncountries.

Itisworthnotingthatthechil-

drenofthethreeorganizersof

the“OccupyCentral”movement

werenotallowedtoparticipatein

thatillegalcampaignin2014.The

doublestandardsanduglyfacesof

theseringleadersareplaintosee—

theysenttheirchildrentosafeplac-

es,awayfromthepoliticalunrest

whileincitingotheryoungsters

toresorttoviolenceandbecome

politicalcannonfodder.

JimmyLaicertainlyhasmany

hideoutsforhimselfandhisseven

familymembers.Besideshisyoung

son,therestofthem(includingLai

himself,twosonsandadaughter

withhisex-wife,twosonsanda

daughterwithhiscurrentwife)

possessBritishpassportsandare

livingintheUnitedStatesorthe

UnitedKingdom.Obviously,Laihas

alreadyplannedhisescaperoute

andisalwaysreadytoflee.

BennyTaiYiu-ting,whoisnow

servinghisjailsentence,saidin

anopenforumpriortotheillegal

“OccupyCentral”movementthat

hiswholefamilywasengagedin

discussingwhowasgoingtopar-

ticipateinthemovement,andhe

assertedthathedidnotallowhis

youngchildrentoparticipateinthe

campaign.

LikeTai,ReverendChuYiu-ming

warnedhissonnottogotothe

frontlines.Notwantingtodisobey

hisfather,Chu’ssononlysang

hymnsandprayedforhisfatherin

churchonSept28,2014,thedate

onwhichpolicefiredteargasto

disperseprotesters.

MartinLee’sonlyson,Joseph

Lee,hasstudiedintheUKsincehe

was12yearsold.Afterhisgradu-

ation,hefollowedinhisfather’s

footstepstobecomeabarrister.He

laterbecametheson-in-lawofan

emergingcosmeticsbusinessguru.

AsJosephLeeonceclaimedthathe

wouldneverengageinpolitics,one

wonderswhathethinksabouthis

father’sparticipationintherallyby

legalprofessionalsonJune7.

TuHai-ming,aHongKongmem-

beroftheNationalCommitteeof

theChinesePeople’sPoliticalCon-

sultativeConference,wrotethatthe

childrenoftheseringleadersare

allfromelitefamilieswhohaveleft

HongKongforabrightfutureover-

seas.Theywillnotparticipatein

anyprotests,norwilltheybefool-

ishenoughtogotothefrontlines.If

theyareprosecuted,theircriminal

recordswillbeanindeliblestigma

thathinderstheirfuturedevelop-

ment.

ThepersistentchaosinHong

Kongcanhardlyaffectthem.If

theirfatherscanbenefitfromthe

turmoil,theymightstillbeableto

inherittheassociatedwealthand

“privilege”fromthem.Theyhave

neverpaidtheslightestattentionto

thefateofthethugsterrorizingthe

streets.Apparently,theringlead-

ersknowwhattheyaredoingis

immoral,illegalandfilthy,hence

theyforbidtheirchildrentopartici-

pateinsuchactivities.

Formorethanamonth,Hong

Kong’soppositionandradical

groupshavebeendeliberately

stirringupviolence.Theyhave

resortedtomeansthatdeviatefrom

peacefuldemonstrationstodistort-

ingthefactsandthetruth.

TaKungPaocommentedinits

editorialthatitishardtobelieve

thatbeneaththemasksofthose

armedthugsareinnocentyoung

people.Inreality,itisnotabattle

forfreedom,asevidencedbyrioters

chargingtheLiaisonOfficeofthe

CentralPeople’sGovernmentinthe

HongKongSpecialAdministrative

Regionanddefacingitsnational

emblemonJuly2;bythenational

flagbeingtossedintotheseaout-

sideashoppingmallinTsimSha

TsuionAug3andreplacedbythe

HongKongseparatistmovement

flag;andbyriotersrepeatedlycall-

ingforHongKongindependence.

Nomatterwhattermsand

sloganstheseparatistsuse,their

movementisinessencesecession-

ismthatdefiesnationalsovereignty

andtramplesontheredlineof“one

country,twosystems”.Theirsubver-

sivecampaigniscarriedoutwith

themanipulationofforeignforces

andmustbeseverelyreprimanded.

HongKongcanneverrestoreits

prosperityiftheinstigatorsarenot

broughttojustice.Weshouldreal-

izethatrioterswillpersistinthe

shortrunandtheseparatistmove-

mentshowsnosignsofabating.

MastermindssuchasJimmyLai,

AnsonChanFangOn-sangand

MartinLeearesecretlyplanning

moredisruptiveoperationstofulfill

thepoliticalmissionsassignedby

theirUSboss.Aslongasthesecul-

pritsarestillatlarge,HongKong

canneverhavepeace.

This is a translation of a Chinese

article published on the website

youth.cn. The views do not

necessarily reflect those of China

Daily.

Unliketherioters,theoffspringofthoseincitingHongKong’sturmoilarewellshielded

ByKAMLAM-YUEN

H

ongKong’sMTRCorp

issuedanoticeonthe

morningofAug6about

receivingnumerous

reportsofprotestersobstruct-

ingtraindoorsfromclosingand

abusingemergencybuttonson

platforms.Thisbroughtmuch

inconveniencetocommutersdueto

disruptionoftrainservices.

Inparticular,servicesalongthe

IslandlineandKwunTongline,

whichrunacrossthecity’simpor-

tantindustrialandcommercialdis-

tricts,weretemporarilysuspended.

Inrecentweeks,radicalprotest-

ershaverepeatedlydisruptedthe

operationofelevatorsinpublic

buildingsandobstructedMTR

traindoorsfromclosinginwhat

theycalleda“non-cooperation

movement”.Suchunlawfulactions

thatseriouslyaffectthedailylives

ofcitizensmustbeseverelycon-

demned.

Theso-called“non-cooperation

movement”,originatedfromMahat-

maGandhi’sapproachtocombat

Britain’sunjustcolonialrulein

India,isanon-violentcampaign

againstanunjustpoliticalregime.

ItispreposterousthatHongKong

protesterscalltheirdestructive

actionsanon-cooperationmove-

ment.

Tostartwith,whattheradicals

havebeendoingsincelastmonth

aremostlyviolentactsthathave

contravenedthelawanddestabi-

lizedsociety—whichgoestotally

againstthespiritofanon-coopera-

tionmovement.

Secondly,Gandhi’sresistance

movementwaslaunchedbecause

thecountrywasunjustlyruledand

exploitedbyacolonialpowerwith

manycitizenslivinginpoverty.As

anIndianwhosuffereddiscrimina-

tionandhumiliationinhisown

country,Gandhiwascompelledto

rallyallIndiansbehindhisnon-

cooperationcampaigninorderto

fightBritishcolonialrule.

Incontrast,theparticipantsof

HongKong’sso-callednon-coopera-

tioncampaignrelentlesslydisrupt-

edthedailylivesofcitizens.

Theradicalsself-righteouslyand

wantonlyindulgedinactsthatdis-

ruptedthenormallivesofcitizens,

againstthepublicinterest.Non-

cooperationmovementsinthepast

wereaimedatboycottingforeign

products,promotinglocalindus-

triesandnationaleducation.

Incontrast,HongKong’sradical

protestersaresabotagingthecity’s

stabilityandprosperityincollusion

withexternalanti-Chinaforces

—underthepretextofopposing

proposedamendmentstotheextra-

ditionlaws.Theirillintentionsare

appalling.

China-bashersintheWestclaim

thatdemocracyinHongKongis

beingundermined.Theyarelying

throughtheirteeth.UnderBrit-

ishrule,thegovernorwasdirectly

appointedbytheBritishmonarch,

andmanypositionsintheBritish

HongKonggovernmentwereheld

byBritishpeople.

SinceHongKong’sreturnto

China,thecentralgovernmenthas,

inaccordancewiththeConstitution

andtheBasicLaw,implemented

theprinciplesof“onecountry,two

systems”and“HongKongpeople

governingHongKong”toensure

ahighdegreeofautonomyforthe

HKSAR,soHongKongresidents

nowenjoyunprecedentedcivil

rightsandfreedom—afactthatis

obvioustoall.

Thetruthstandsthetestof

time.Theradicalshadbetterbear

inmindForeignMinistryspokes-

personHuaChunying’sremarks:

“HongKongispartofChina;

theChinesegovernmentwillnot

tolerateanyforeignintervention

inHongKong’saffairs,norwillit

allowanyexternalforcestodestabi-

lizeHongKong.”

Thoseinvolvedintheseprotests

shouldbrushuponhistory.They

wouldthenrealizethatnotraitor

escapesunscathedafterhurtingthe

nationanditspeople.

The author is a current affairs

commentator and a member of

Hua Jing Society. This is an excerpt

translation of his Chinese article

published earlier in Hong Kong

Commercial Daily. The views do not

necessarily reflect those of China

Daily.

RadicaldemonstratorssabotageHongKong’sstabilityincollusionwithexternalanti-Chinaforces

Protestsnot‘non-cooperationmovement’

Ringleaders’childrenoutofharm’sway

Whattheradicals

havebeendoing

sincelastmonth

aremostlyviolent

actsthathave

contravened

thelawand

destabilized

society.

CHINA DAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY August 9-15, 2019 COMMENT 21