Opinion | Student's story indicative of how bitter cross-border war has become
Albert Cheng says online abuse Betty Wong received after telling her story sadly indicative of the social and cultural confrontations taking place
Betty Wong, an undergraduate at the University of Hong Kong's medical faculty, has become the latest punching bag for the young and furious in Hong Kong who lash out at anything or anyone with a mainland label.
Nineteen-year-old Betty was born on the mainland to a parent with permanent residency in Hong Kong. Under Article 24 of the Basic Law, she would have been granted residency - if a Court of Final Appeal ruling on such matters were allowed to stand. But soon after the ruling, the National People's Congress Standing Committee issued an interpretation of the clause that denied automatic permanent residency rights for people in Betty's situation.
As the gap between the haves and the have-nots widens, youngsters in particular have found it increasingly tough to climb up the social ladder
In 2003, an eight-year-old Betty sneaked into Hong Kong alone but later reported herself to the immigration authorities. She said immigration officers gave her a hard time before granting her a "temporary permit", commonly known as "going-out pass", to stay in the territory.
For 11 years, she endured the discrimination and studied hard. Her efforts paid off last year when she was admitted to the elite medical school. The university then intervened on her behalf and she was eventually granted permanent residency.
She thought her story might inspire others having a difficult time. So she shared it on Facebook. She was wrong.
Betty was immediately mobbed online by netizens accusing her of abusing the Hong Kong system. Most comments left on her posting were negative; some were downright abusive. Many noted that she was not even a proper Hong Kong person when she applied for the university. They argued that HKU should have given her place to a genuine local student.
Betty would have been hailed as a role model back in the 1980s. Yet, given the current tension between Hongkongers and mainland visitors, she is seen by many as another example of how the mainlanders have advanced their self-interests at the expense of the locals.