Opinion | Public Eye: An identity test that would expose hypocrisy of Hongkongers who say they are not Chinese

Public Eye rarely reads the pro-Beijing mouthpiece Global Times, for the same reason we can't stomach the one-sided pro-democracy camp mouthpiece Apple Daily. But something the Global Times said last week made us sit up and think. It suggested that Hongkongers who do not consider themselves Chinese should give up their SAR passports and home return permits and forgo their right to seek help from Chinese embassies when in trouble abroad. That makes logical sense. The SAR passport, which has visa-free entry to more countries than the British National (Overseas) passport, is issued by the Hong Kong government on behalf of China. The home return permit is a mainland document granting holders unlimited entry and residency. It would be hypocritical to reject Chinese identity yet accept the benefits the SAR and home return documents accord. Those who say they are Hongkongers instead of Chinese should dump their Chinese documents for the BNO passport, which is just a travel document. We wish them luck in persuading the British government to grant them abode rights. But there are Chinese nationals, such as Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, who have never rejected their Chinese identity yet have been stripped of their home return permits. Global Times should also champion the reinstatement of Chinese documents for Hongkongers who have never rejected their Chinese identity. That will go some way towards showing it is not a Beijing mouthpiece in the same way the Apple Daily is a democracy camp mouthpiece.

We're lovin' it. The "smear Arthur Li Kwok-cheung" steamroller has been trying to flatten him for months with an orchestrated campaign of audio leaks and University of Hong Kong alumni referendums. Every leak was carefully timed to force Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to back down from naming Li as HKU council chairman. But far from being flattened, the in-your-face Leung and Li duet is playing the simplest game in politics - do nothing. Li is romancing his new girlfriend and Leung is shrugging off the leaked audios, which purport to show Li is unfit as council chairman but in fact contain no smoking gun. Leung excels in waiting it out. Remember Occupy? Piling pressure on him to kowtow has the opposite effect. His enemies should know by now that he revels in fighting back. Li, likewise, loves a fight. The HKU Convocation's non-binding motion last Sunday to reject Li as chairman drew about 4,400 votes. The headlines screamed that 97.7 of voters opposed Li. A huge majority, but a deceptive one. The convocation has over 162,000 people. Only 4,400 bothered to vote. That shows the HKU crisis is boring people. How long will Leung play the waiting game? Only he knows. That's why we're lovin' it.