The relentless, virulent attacks on pro-democracy legislators Martin Lee Chu-ming, Lee Cheuk-yan and James To Kun-sun for having the temerity to attend a US Senate hearing on Hong Kong bring back memories of the Cultural Revolution, when millions of Chinese were degraded and humiliated, and many lost their lives.
Hong Kong people of my generation were fortunate enough to escape the devastation of 1966-76. Our only first-hand experience was the riots in 1967 - a spillover of the chaos and lawlessness on the mainland.
However, we have heard and read about the horrific events, and many of our relatives and friends fell victim to the Mao Zedong-inspired madness.
Thus, when Beijing officials and their sycophantic supporters in Hong Kong launch the most strident attacks on pro-democracy legislators since the change of sovereignty in 1997, alarms bells should start ringing.
Some Hong Kong people have argued that there is no need to press too hard for democratic political reforms because the main purpose of democracy is to protect our freedoms, and Hong Kong people are already quite free; they were under British colonial rule and are now, under Chinese rule.
This logic misses the point. At the end of the day, the guarantee for freedoms and civil liberties must be a democratically elected government and an independent judiciary. To expect an unelected authoritarian government to respect the human rights of its people is wishful thinking.