My Take | Inside the pan-democratic camp: insults, vitriol and division
Secretly recorded tape exposes lie to their supposed unity as Civic Passion chairman and lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai takes off the gloves
Beijing-friendly politicians are often accused of practising “united front” tactics. As it turns out, pan-democrats and their radical allies are doing exactly the same. Worse, some have such contempt for the public in whose name they are always claiming to be speaking that it’s truly breathtaking.
The radical Civic Passion chairman and lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai has found himself at the centre of a political storm among anti-government circles. This comes after a heated discussion during a secretly taped party meeting was released online at the weekend.
Cheng was heard blasting ousted lawmakers Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching – both of the localist group Youngspiration – and dismissing the public as “retarded”. The two localist activists had disrupted the Legislative Council’s swearing-in ceremonies and other meetings last October, behaviour that led to their disqualification as lawmakers.
Cheng was heard shouting Cantonese obscenities while discussing the case of Leung and Yau, saying they both “should just die”. He also complained about having to pretend to be their friend, “to make it look like I was helping them”.
“The public is retarded,” he said. “They assume I am part of localism. Some even think I belong to Youngspiration, do you understand?”