Save Hong Kong from China

Save Hong Kong from China
(from 麥兜噹噹伴我心)

Sunday 13 March 2016

An article introducing "localism" at Hong Kong

'If you love China, you hate Hong Kong'
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/if-you-love-china-you-hate-hong-kong

As far as English media is concerned, this is a reasonably accurate and less biased article...



On one level, it is about ring-fencing Hong Kong's identity and resources.
Says Dr Lee: "Localism is very strongly grounded in the differences between Hong Kongers and the 'invading' mainlanders'. Localists hate tolerance; they focus on Hong Kong's identity as a distinctive ethnic group, whose interests are being damaged."

Thus, for instance, rowdy localist protesters heckle mainland day-trippers as "locusts who deprive locals" of goods like formula milk. The entry of mainland immigrants, subject to a daily quota of 150, is also a festering issue. The mainland authorities decide who gets to come in.

Mr Lau underscores the unease, saying: "They are here, not just as tourists but residents, speaking putonghua (Mandarin). And you wonder, am I in Hong Kong or China?"

IT manager S. C. Lam, 40, says he supports localism. "We have lost too much to the Chinese - our economy, social welfare, our water. Traditional ways have not worked, so let's give localism a shot."


More importantly, by becoming a force in the political field, it forces the moderate pan-Democrats to "radicalise", says Mr Yau. "We will not get half (the support), but we can influence the centre."

Beijing's reaction to all this has been expectedly thunderous - it has branded the Mongkok rioters "separatists" - a label Mr Chow says he accepts "with honour".

Asked whether localism will simply cause Beijing to tighten its grip on Hong Kong, such as by ramming through an anti-subversion law, Mr Lau says: "It will happen anyway."



On the old-school pan-Democrats who have said they are Chinese patriots who "love China but hate the CCP", he says: "To us, if you love China, you hate Hong Kong."

Dr Lee says: "The degree of venom towards the pan-Democrats is even higher than towards the pro-Beijing establishment because localists see them as selling out."

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