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My Take | When enemies start to resemble each other
Both sides of the political divide in Hong Kong are pursuing the same goal ruthlessly, and with the same unseemly self-righteousness
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Why you can trust SCMP
Alex Loin Toronto
As they say, the longer you fight monsters, the more you become like one. The longer you observe the tactics used against enemies by both the pro-establishment and anti-establishment blocs in local politics, the more alike you will find them.
The opposition blogosphere is ablaze with anger against the police, who have decided not to prosecute Beijing-friendly lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu for supposedly calling for the merciless killing of people who advocated Hong Kong independence. The reason given was insufficient proof.
Ever since Ho made the remarks in September, opposition lawmakers have called for an official censure by the Legislative Council, while their allies have made numerous reports to the police against Ho for making what they claimed was a death threat.
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Ho’s allies, however, have defended him, saying his remarks were taken out of context.
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Now consider a more recent case, that of Benny Tai Yiu-ting, the controversial University of Hong Kong law lecturer and co-founder of the Occupy Central protest movement. Speaking at a forum organised by a pro-Taiwan independence group in Taipei, Tai asked his audience to consider the circumstances under which Hong Kong could declare independence.
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