Letters | When Hong Kong’s democracy movement is taken over by bigots, true believers must speak up
- Many ‘yellow ribbons’ are nothing more than nativists and bigots hiding behind the banner of democracy, who simply dislike anyone and anything from north of the border
- True believers in universal freedoms must speak up and hold them accountable
I don’t know what, if any, earlier exchange led to the confrontation, but nothing justifies that kind of violence – especially after you simply shouted the factual statement “we are all Chinese”. The blatantly xenophobic chants of “go back to the mainland” were also unacceptable. For that too, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to experience the anguish and fear you must have felt.
I am a proud “yellow ribbon”, by which I mean I am a strong believer in the freedom of speech and expression, respect for human rights, and representative government.
I believe Hong Kong – and ultimately China – should evolve towards that. I am instinctively sceptical of a regime that holds little regard for due process, has absolute control over the media, tears down churches and locks up minorities in re-education camps. For that, I make no apologies. Those are not Western values, but universal values. We should not be branded as traitors for holding those beliefs.
Sadly, we have seen things in Hong Kong move in the wrong direction in the past few years, which is a major factor for the recent chaos.
