Employees from 'Big Four' accounting firms disown anti-Occupy Central ad
Professionals declare love for Hong Kong and reject political statement from 'Big Four' firms
Employees of the so-called Big Four accounting firms have told off their bosses in public, in an advertisement rejecting the companies' joint anti-Occupy Central ad published last week.
"You boss, your statement does not represent our stance," they say in a quarter-page ad carried in the Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday.
The Chinese words for "you boss" are printed in much bigger characters - the term, in Cantonese, can also mean an expression of anger bordering on vulgarity, hinting at the strong sentiments behind the unusual public comment.
The ad's creators called themselves a "group of Big Four employees who love Hong Kong".
Their bold move was in response to a statement issued on Friday by the city's four biggest accounting firms - Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong - condemning a non-violent sit-in planned by the Occupy Central democracy movement.
Students plan overnight Occupy Central sit-in 'rehearsal' after July 1 march
Occupy has threatened to block streets in Central if the government fails to deliver a plan for the 2017 chief executive election that guarantees voters a genuine choice between candidates.