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2012 Kong Qingdong incident

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Early 2012 Hong Kong protests
File:Voa-chinese-hongkong-protest-22jan12-300.jpg
Protesters outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong.
Date21 January 2012 – ongoing
Location
Hong Kong
Caused byInflammatory remarks by Peking University professor Kong Qingdong; longstanding social tension in the Hong Kong region.
GoalsExpulsion of Kong Qingdong from Peking University[1]
MethodsProtest
StatusOngoing
Parties

The Early 2012 Hong Kong protests were a series of protests by residents of the Hong Kong against Peking University professor Kong Qingdong, who had made televised remarks suggesting that many Hong Kong people were disloyal to China and still harboured a colonial mentality. Kong was responding to the release of a survey finding that Hong Kong people feel increasingly separate from, and superior to, mainland Chinese people.[2] Anti-mainlander sentiment in Hong Kong is growing because of the perception that mainland mothers are flocking to Hong Kong to give birth.[3] About 150 people gathered at the Central Government's Liaison Office on January 22 in order to protest Kong's remarks.

Background

Cultural identity

Since 1997, University of Hong Kong professor Robert Chung Ting-yiu (Chinese: 鐘庭耀) had been regularly conducting surveys on how residents in Hong Kong view their own identity.[4] In December 2011, Chung's poll showed that 63% of the people considered themselves Hong Kongers first, and only 34% thought of themselves as Chinese.[4] This is the highest ratio of those who consider themselves primarily as Hong Kong residents since the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.[5] After Chung published his results, two pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong, Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao alleged that Chung was a "political fraudster" with "evil intentions" to incite people to deny they are Chinese. One pro-Beijing columnist asked whether Chung's actions are subversive, and whether his scholarship is a slave of political bribery.[6] Chung rejected the charges of bias and released a statement that the "Cultural Revolution-style curses and defamations are not conducive to the building of Chinese national identity among Hong Kong people".[3]

Another professor targeted was Dixon Sing (Chinese: 成名) of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In December 2011 Pro-Beijing media said he was an anti-China "Western trained vicious dog" because he gave interviews to Falun Gong media. But his real issue may have been to support the 2010 Five Constituencies Referendum.[6] At least 2 out of 14 articles were released to ask the university to fire him.[6] The Communist party officials see both professors as a connection between pro-democracy movements and the way HK people see themselves.[7] The Students' union have since come out to protect professor Sing in a public statement about the One Country, Two Systems being violated. They believe that regardless of pro-establishment or pro-democratic views, the views need to be respected in order for academic freedom to exist.[8][9]

Influx of birth tourism

On 1 January 2012 a protest was held by more than 1,500 pregnant women and mothers with strollers against the number of mainland Chinese mothers giving birth in the city.[10] In 2001, the Court of Final Appeal ruled in Director of Immigration v. Chong Fung Yuen that Hong Kong-born children of Chinese citizens were entitled to the right of abode in Hong Kong even if their parents had entered the territory as tourists. This ruling sparked a sharp rise in the number of mainland mothers coming to Hong Kong to give birth.[11] Hong Kong hospitals have been suffering from a shortage of resources as a result. In 2011 nearly half of all babies born in Hong Kong (38,043 out of 80,131) were born to mainland Chinese mothers aiming for their children to get the right of abode so they could obtain education in Hong Kong.[4] Hong Kong in general has one of the world's lowest birth rate. The hospital systems are stressed. Nurses in the region have accused the city's government of being incompetent and said Hong Kong people should be prioritised over non-locals.[10] For 2012 the Hong Kong government have already reduced the quota for number of mainland women allowed to give birth in public hospitals.[10] The quota call was made after doctors themselves made a rare public call to pressure the government to put a stop on the number of babies allowed as resources were stretched too thin.[10] The cap is now set at 3,400 for public and 31,000 for private hospitals.[12]

Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced a four point plan to hold back the wave of mainland women.[4] Heavy charges are imposed on non-locals who turn up at emergency stops to give birth immediately. The immigration department will get more resources for border checks. Local authorities will crack down on people who assist women enter the territories. More raids will be done on unlicensed pregnant women hotels.[4] About HK$6.6 million of public hospitals' bad debt in 2010-11 was from non-local mothers not paying their bills.[13]

Property investment

Many Hong Kong citizens blame wealthy mainland Chinese for driving property prices beyond the reach of local citizens. In 2011 mainland Chinese purchased a third of all residential flats in Hong Kong, according to Nomura research.[14] Home prices also rose as much as 70% since 2009.[14]

Incident

Eating while on MTR controversy

In January 2012 Ken Wai, a Hong Kong passenger asked a mainland woman and her kid to stop eating on an MTR subway in Mandarin on a train bound for Mong Kok East Station.[15] On the Hong Kong subway, eating is not allowed. While the kid stopped eating, the mother accused him of making trouble and laughed at his bad Mandarin.[16] This infuriated Mr. Wai who started the dispute with them in Cantonese. The subway staff had to stop the train, and ask both parties to get off the train to solve disputes. On 18 January Mr. Wai conducted an interview with Xinhua News Agency on the issue and expressed his anger.[16]

Kong Qingdong's remarks

A harsh public comment on V1.CN followed this incident by professor Kong Qingdong from Peking University who is a supporter of Communist Party of China orthodoxy and a descendent of Confucius.[17] He responded publicly "You Hongkongers are Chinese, right? But as I know, many Hongkongers don't think they are Chinese. They claim that we are Hongkongers, you are Chinese. They are bastards. Those kinds of people used to be running dogs for the British colonialists. And until now, you Hongkongers are still dogs. You aren't human."[15] Kong then claimed that Hong Kong citizens had failed to accept their responsibility to speak the "real Chinese language (Mandarin)" because of the "residues of colonialism". He then threatened "If Hongkongers keep discriminating against mainlanders in that way, then we won't provide the territory with water, vegetables, fruit and rice." And asked "Can Hongkongers still survive? Go to seek help from your British daddy."[15]

After exposure by the media, however, Kong Qingdong claimed that he only made the remarks for the Hong Kong people’s benefit, and that he only called "some" people dogs.[2][18] According to Ming Pao, Kong claimed that "normal people, educated people should all understand what he meant", and that he thinks "every place has some people who are dogs. Some Beijing people are dogs. If someone really says that all Hong Kong people are dogs, then I agree, that person should apologize. Since the only party claiming that Hong Kong people are dogs is Southern Daily. I demand that they apologize to both the Hong Kong people and me!"[19][20][21] The online video network that published Kong’s remarks later claimed that Kong’s views do not represent the network’s.[22]

Protests

File:Voa-chinese-hongkong-Professor-Kong-dog-22jan12-300.jpg
A Hong Kong protester holding a caricature of Kong Qingdong as a bulldog.

Many Hong Kong citizens were infuriated by his remarks,[23] and Hong Kong's Open magazine openly asked for Kong to be banished from Hong Kong, as well as suggesting that the Communist Party of China has been supporting Kong Qingdong behind the scene.[19] Petitions for expelling Kong from Peking University, which was previously called for when he rejected the Southern Weekly interview with an expression of profanity, was also renewed.[1]

On 22 January 2012, about 150 protesters gathered at the Liaison Office to protest against Kong Qingdong's statement.[24] People brought their pet dogs and carried signs saying "We are not dogs".[17] Some protesters claimed that Hong Kongers dislike the Communist Party precisely because the Party had, in their views, deformed Chinese culture and tradition.[17][18][25][26]

Reaction

Kong Qingdong

Kong criticized the protest as "an attempt to suppress (his) freedom of speech through government action".[26] Mainland reaction to Kong’s remarks had been divided; while some criticized his insult on the Hong Kong people, others have expressed support for Kong.[2]

Hong Kong electoral candidates

Both running candidates for the next Chief executives position, Henry Tang and Leung Chun-ying have come out to complain about Kong's public statement.[27] Henry Tang responded by saying professor Kong Qingdong needs to be responsible for his own statement and that Hong Kong citizens are not dogs. He emphasized this is how Hong Kong citizens deal with each other in a free society.[27] Leung Chun-ying responded by saying that Kong's statement did not actually reflect the views of mainlanders. He added that this is part of the Hong Kong spirit to respect the law, and that professor Kong Qingdong should not be over reacting.[27]

Other notable response

  • The prominent Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei complained about Peking University's tolerance of Kong Qingdong's behavior, calling Peking University "a nest of turtles".[28]
  • Susan Tse, a Hong Kong opera actress and a fellow descendant of Confucius, criticized Kong Qingdong's "lack of tolerance and respect" of the Hong Kong people. Tse further suggested that Kong should apologize to the Hong Kong people. [29]
  • The Chinese scholar and television personality Yi Zhongtian criticized Kong's remarks, calling Kong's characterization of speakers of non-Mandarin Chinese dialects as "bastards" an "affront to thousands of millions of non-Mandarin speakers in China", and as such Yi would "rather be a bastard than agree with Kong."[30]
  • The Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong also rebuked Kong's remarks, suggesting that “if the Hong Kong people are dogs, then Kong Qingdong is a blood relative of dogs”.[22]
  • An analysis was done by yzzk (Asia magazine), who gave many examples of popular Youtube links showing mainland Chinese misbehaving every day in HK causing anger. It also highlight many "Chinese events" such as fight for democracy during the 1989 protest, help with activists in need, help with territorial dispute (Diaoyutai islands), disaster relief (2008 Sichuan earthquake) and many more events that HK citizens participated in and were overlooked.[31]
  • Jack So, former MTR chairman and CPPCC member who was born in mainland ROC,[32] said "We are all the same, we are all Chinese with the same surnames."[33]
The highly controversial advertisement paid for by Hong Kong citizens, depicting mainlanders as locusts on Apple Daily

Anti-mainland advertisement

Members of the Hong Kong Golden Forum raised more than HK$100,000 to purchase a full-page advertisement in Apple Daily.[34] The advertisement was published on Wednesday 1 Feb 2012[35] and featured a giant locust overlooking the city skyline of Hong Kong. Locusts stereotypically represent Chinese mainlanders. The ad makes the statement "Would you like to see Hong Kong spend HK$1 million every 18 minutes on the children of non-Hong Kongers? Hong Kongers have had enough! We demand the unlimited infiltration of mainland Chinese couples into Hong Kong."[34] The advertisement also employs the derogative term "double illegitimacy" (雙非),[36] which refers to residents of Hong Kong with both parents of illegal status within the SAR territory. Protesters also argued against Hong Kong Basic Law Article 24, although Rita Fan have already said these newborns do not qualify for right of abode.[35]

Hong Kong protesters also launched anti-mainland groups on Facebook that reached high popularity,[36] prompting local media to refer to it as an "Anti-Locusts campaign".[37] At least one entry on Sina microblog has been reposted 97,000 times and received 30,000 comments according to the Global Times.[38]

The Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission expressed concern over the full-page advertisement; Chairman Lam Woon-kwong said that vilifying remarks will heighten social tension and hostility and called for tolerance and rational debate.[39] The Communist party has long been known for ignoring pro-Democracy groups and denying certain citizens Home Return Permits and other rights.

Mainland response

Mainland microblogs launched a retaliatory advertisement against the locust slur, claiming that "if it wasn't the mainland Chinese treating you like a son, you would have died long ago. We must not allow this son (Hong Kong) to ride on our shoulders anymore. Let's temporarily cut off the son's water, electricity and food!"[14]

Copy cat advertisement: Shanghai grassroot against other mainlanders response

A similarly duplicate ad by shanghai grassroots reused the same picture posted from the HK golden forum. But the words were changed. This copycat ad claims 4 billion RMB is spent each year subsidize non-locals in Shanghai. In Shanghainese dialect it declares "Shanghainese have had enough. Because you have come for the gold rush, we have to receive 17,566,700 outsiders."[40]

Additional controversy

Around 7 Feb, at the HK polytechnic university democracy wall, large characters appeared inscribing the words in Chinese characters: "Anti-Locusts" (反蝗蟲).[41] The case have been under investigation. Some students believe this type of vandalism on the democracy wall is just a response to the mainland society not tolerating democracy.[41][42]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "請北大開除孔慶東". 中國評論月刊. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Higgins, Andrew. "Beijing professor and descendant of Confucius provokes anger by insulting Hong Kongers protest Beijing'". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b "China slams survey that shows rising Hong Kong resentment". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  4. ^ a b c d e Manthorpe, Jonathan. "Opinion: Hongkongers bemoan the influence of waves of Chinese visitors". Vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  5. ^ "美洲台灣日報". Taiwan Daily. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  6. ^ a b c "Review & Outlook: Hong Kong Struggle Sessions - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  7. ^ "China Takes Aim at Hong Kong Academics". The Weekly Standard. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  8. ^ Facebook link
  9. ^ Student Union statement in pdf
  10. ^ a b c d AFP Sunday, Jan 15, 2012 (2012-01-15). "Hong Kong women protest against mainland mothers". News.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "內地來港產子數目5年急增25倍 香港擬收緊綜援", People's Daily, 2008-03-10, retrieved 2011-10-05
  12. ^ Jan 24, 2012. "Asia Times Online :: Here be dragons". Atimes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ South China morning post. 20 January 2012. Tsang vows to curb mainland birth tourism.
  14. ^ a b c Pomfret, James. "HK's China policies spur clash with mainland cousins | Reuters". In.reuters.com. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  15. ^ a b c South China morning post. 21 January 2012. HK people labelled as dogs by mainlander.
  16. ^ a b ChinaHush (2012-01-15). "Mainland Visitors Eating On A Hong Kong Train Caused A Huge Fight". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23. {{cite web}}: Text "44" ignored (help); Text "8,074" ignored (help); Text "Jan. 22, 2012, 3:35 PM" ignored (help)
  17. ^ a b c "Confucius descendent incites controversy with insults to Hong Kongers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  18. ^ a b "Anger in Hong Kong After Comments from Mainland China Professor". JakartaGlobe. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  19. ^ a b "孔慶東否認罵港人是狗 轉向南方報系開火". New Tang Dynasty Television. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  20. ^ "孔慶東回應-香港為什麼老虎屁股摸不得". Ming Pao. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012. （孔慶東）相信「正常人、受過教育的人、自稱是人的人」都會清楚其言論的真正意思。
  21. ^ "東鐵罵戰主角籲勿分化 孔慶東堅稱「部分港人是狗」". Ming Pao. Retrieved 22 January 2012. 「我說過香港人是狗嗎？沒有！ … 我說哪裏都有一部份人是狗，北京也有一部份是狗 … 假如真有一個人說『香港人是狗』，那這個人應該道歉。而這句話恰好是南方報系說的，所以我鄭重要求南方報系向我並同時向香港人民道歉。支持南方報系認罪的舉手！」
  22. ^ a b "孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」港人將圍堵中聯辦". Epoch Times. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  23. ^ "唐英年批孔慶東應有教授品格". Want Daily. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Hong Kongers protest Beijinger's alleged put-down". MarketWatch. 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  25. ^ "逾百人中聯辦抗議要求孔慶東道歉". Sing Tao Daily. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  26. ^ a b "網友中聯辦示威 孔慶東指荒唐 「借政府打壓言論自由 給港人丟臉」". Ming Pao. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  27. ^ a b c "明報新聞網-要聞-要聞-唐英年﹕港人不是狗-20120122". News.mingpao.com. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  28. ^ "學者分析孔慶東罵港人的文革思維及後台". 希望之聲. 2012-01-23. 「他是北大教授，北大是王八窩啊。」
  29. ^ "謝雪心斥孔慶東不懂包容". Ming Pao. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  30. ^ "孔慶東「狗」論發酵 香港媒體大幅報導". Epoch Times. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  31. ^ "香港焦慮症候群陸港之爭風暴背後　．陳競新、張倩燁" (in Template:Zh icon). Yzzk.com. Retrieved 2012-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  32. ^ "蘇澤光決辭地鐵主席". www.singtao.com. 2003-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  33. ^ "中國評論新聞：貿發局主席：香港人不是狗 大陸人不是蝗蟲". Chinareviewnews.com. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  34. ^ a b Tan, Kenneth (1 February 2012). "Apple Daily Hong Kong runs ad against mainland "locusts"". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  35. ^ a b Foo, Kenneth (2 February 2012). "'Locusts' ad lands to fuel mainlander row". The Standard. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  36. ^ a b "忍夠了！港人登廣告要求港府限制大陸孕婦". Radio Taiwan International. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  37. ^ [1]
  38. ^ "Chinese see red as Hong Kong advert terms them 'locusts' - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  39. ^ "EOC expresses concern over 'locust' ad". Rthk.hk. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  40. ^ Fan Huang (2012-02-02). "Bad gets worse: Shanghai's version of Hong Kong's locust ad". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  41. ^ a b "理大民主牆「反蝗」大字報被撕 - 東方日報" (in Template:Zh icon). Orientaldaily.on.cc. Retrieved 2012-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  42. ^ "理大民主牆「反蝗」海報被撕 - 太陽報" (in Template:Zh icon). The-sun.on.cc. Retrieved 2012-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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