Who split Hong Kong society?
Updated: 2013-10-23 06:31
By Leung Lap-yan(HK Edition)
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Hong Kong has been suffering from incessant political feuds since the handover and current Chief Executive (CE) Leung Chun-ying has been the opposition camp's favorite target since taking office, his every move, big or small, being vilified for any or no reason.
Earlier this week Legislative Councillor Kwok Ka-ki (Civic Party) tabled a motion to subject Leung to a "vote of no confidence" at a Legislative Council Q&A session. Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, ever so well-mannered as she is, could not keep her cool and responded indignantly by dismissing Kwok's accusations against the CE as exaggerated and untrue. She also stressed that the current SAR government, under Leung's leadership, has been striving against all odds to address some of the most controversial social issues, with widely acknowledged achievements as proof, adding that she felt sad about the opposition's behavior.
To be fair, Leung still has a lot to prove as CE, but he has been working quite aggressively to tackle various difficulties and achieved undeniable results, such as establishing the city's first poverty line, introducing a long-term housing development strategy, increasing living allowance for needy senior citizens and the "Guangdong Scheme", all of which are notoriously thankless endeavors that benefit Hong Kong residents in general. It's really sad such good deeds have been described by the opposition as sins. Even Leung's meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to seek justice for families of victims in the Manila hostage crisis became something "humiliating the nation and forfeiting its sovereignty" in the opposition's eye.
In fact, it is not difficult to tell who is right and who is wrong here. As an old saying in Hong Kong goes: "To see if the constructor built an adequate doorway he must go through it himself first." Let's ask the opposition: would Hong Kong be a better place and local residents all be happy if the poverty line, Old-Age Living Allowance, long-term housing development strategy and "Guangdong Scheme" are withdrawn? Are we supposed to believe that it would pave a better way for future negotiations if Leung had maintained a fighting posture opposite Aquino III and left furiously halfway? The obvious answer is no. Leung's poverty alleviation policy is set to benefit at least 400,000 people in need; the long-term housing development strategy gives those living under squalid conditions hope. As for Leung's reserved attitude toward the Filipino side, it highlighted the sinister abandon of Aquino III as an ill-advised bully. If anything, his humbleness managed to crack the door open for future efforts to win justice for the hostage crisis victims and their families.
All these facts show the opposition camp is hell-bent on opposing the central government and Leung no matter what, even by calling black white, confusing right and wrong and taking Hong Kong residents for fools. They have stooped to such lows as serving their own interest by any means imaginable with no sense of shame whatsoever. There is absolutely no doubt who is splitting Hong Kong society and making good things bad.
The opposition camp has been doing nothing but manipulating the press and hijacking popular will since day one. They claim they represent popular will and see the SAR government as the opposing side. Anyone who agrees with or supports their view is automatically treated as an ally; while those who don't agree with what they do are conveniently called communist peasants or traitors. The truth is most local residents have long been fed up with their unjustifiable self-appointed standard bearer of democracy. If they don't mend their ways soon, the silent majority of Hong Kong residents will have their anger heard so loud the uproar will shatter the democratic disguise of those hypocrites and send them to the dump of human indecency.
The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.
(HK Edition 10/23/2013 page7)