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Alex Lo

It doesn't get any uglier than this. You have heard of the ugly American, the ugly Chinese. Well, may be it's time to hold up the mirror and have a good look - the ugly Hongkonger.
A young, vibrant mainland woman and recent graduate of the University of Hong Kong was knocked over by a truck on Saturday and died later in hospital.
Stephanie Liu Han, 25, had a bright future in the city's financial industry. The accident in Quarry Bay was reported in some newspapers. What do you know? It has become the occasion for online trolls to attack mainlanders.
You have comments like: "Truck driver, you've done a good job."
Here are a few more samples: "What the Chinese people did in Hong Kong made every Hongkonger angry."
"Hongkongers have lost their sympathy [for Liu], but they made us feel that way."
"I can only say it is indeed a tragedy, but compassion can't make us ignore the fact that she came to Hong Kong to grab our education resources since she was not a permanent resident. Hope her family pays for the hospital fee; otherwise, it's not fair to us taxpayers."
"Actually, she is really lucky. If this had happened in the mainland, she would be dead already. At least in Hong Kong, she will be taken to the ICU!"
On many sites, when a few posts tried to express sympathy for Liu, they were quickly mobbed by furious replies, like this one: "All those who hate have their reasons behind it."
Geez, I suppose Hitler and the Nazis had their reasons to hate and kill six million Jews too.
What kind of people post such hateful messages online? What if Liu were an expatriate girl from Europe or North America? Do you think her accidental death would attract the same venom from our local self-righteous haters? You can say the same nasty things about such a foreign girl such as wasting our education resources, taking up our job opportunities and using our public medical resources even as she laid dying.
Some Hong Kong people, especially younger ones, have grown monstrously self-centred, parochial and narrow-minded. There is an emerging bigotry, and it has Hong Kong characteristics written all over it.


Ugly outbreak of Hong Kong bigotry

Tragic death of a young girl has become the occasion for online trolls to attack mainlanders.

Tragic death of young woman gives rise to anti-mainland Chinese sentiment

A photo of Liu Han posted on HKU100 Facebook page. Photo: Facebook screenshot

A Facebook page containing abusive language against Liu and other mainlanders. Photo: Facebook screenshot

Opinion

It doesn't get any uglier than this. You have heard of the ugly American, the ugly Chinese. Well, may be it's time to hold up the mirror and have a good look - the ugly Hongkonger.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | Ugly outbreak of Hong Kong bigotry

My Take | Ugly outbreak of Hong Kong bigotry