My Take | Sorry shouldn’t be the hardest word for Junius Ho
An apology for ‘kill without mercy’ blast at independence advocates would be a lesson for foul-mouthed students who refuse to admit wrongdoing
Junius Ho Kwan-yiu has become one of the most recognisable faces in the legislature, but not necessarily for the right reason. News stories have the government-friendly lawmaker quoted as saying pro-independence activists should be “killed”. And he wasn’t misquoted.
Ho was doing so well with his campaign in recent weeks to pressure the University of Hong Kong to sack Occupy co-founder and law lecturer Benny Tai Yiu-ting, by building up momentum and a following. Then three words tripped him up: “Kill without mercy.”
The occasion was a rally attended by thousands against Tai and those advocating Hong Kong independence on university campuses. Afterwards, Ho was in an agitated state, being surrounded by reporters as he went into a tirade against their being ignorant, stupid and biased.
“If Hong Kong independence advocates are subverting the fate of a country ... why not kill them?” Ho asked. “‘To kill them without mercy’ means we deplore wrongdoers like our enemies.”
You can watch the widely circulated clip on YouTube and his own defence on his online channel. I am absolutely convinced he didn’t mean actually killing or murdering such activists.
