Anson Chan hard to Trump on double standards with US visit
Former chief secretary plays democracy card as she goes to witness the inauguration of a bigot, bully and misogynist
If you’re wondering how best to define double standards, think of former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang. This self-proclaimed champion of democracy is in the United States capital waiting to attend president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Trump? Democracy? Isn’t it immoral to mention the two words in the same breath? If there’s one American president who doesn’t exemplify democracy, it’s Trump.
The man is a bigot, bully and misogynist who called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers, accused a judge of being biased because he is Mexican, proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country, refused to condemn the Ku Klux Klan, ridiculed a disabled reporter, claimed Barack Obama wasn’t born in America, and admitted to sexually groping women. Yet Chan swoons over being invited to his inauguration by Republican Party buddies.
Our very own conscience of Hong Kong – a label awarded her by the Western media – sees no qualms with being associated with this future president. She gushed with pride when explaining why she was invited: to celebrate the values she stands for. I am not sure what her values are but she doesn’t seem to mind having them celebrated by a bigot.
Top performers, including Elton John and Andrea Bocelli, have refused to perform at Trump’s inauguration. A fast-growing number of Democrat lawmakers are boycotting the event after he savaged a respected civil rights leader who fought alongside Martin Luther King. People who believe in democratic values, racial equality and religious freedom are repulsed by Trump’s sexual comments about women and are staying away.
But Chan boycotting the event? No way. Our champion of democracy is too star-struck to do that. This may seem personal but it is not, although Chan has never refrained from being personal in attacking her political foes. I have lost count of the times she mocked Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. And just recently she accused outgoing chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor of obeying orders with her decision to build a Hong Kong version of Beijing’s Palace Museum.
Chan’s pan-democrat buddies routinely boycott Leung’s events. But compared to Trump, Leung is a saint. Compared to Chan, Lam is an angel. One of Chan’s favourite lines is that we should speak truth to power. She no longer has any power although when she did she was not known for championing democracy. And that is the truth.
