Localist delinquent movement seeking independence makes fashionable move to violence, but it’s a political dead end
However bad our government may be – and it’s really not so bad as some make it out to be – nothing justifies such a fruitless and dangerous path
Some people seem to be mesmerised by the sound of their voice. Ray Wong Toi-yeung, a key figure in the localist group Hong Kong Indigenous, is no doubt one of them.
After allegedly helping to start the riot in Mong Kok, the militant activist seeking independence for Hong Kong posted a last message on the internet and then disappeared. He said it was “better to die with honour than survive in disgrace”.
His subsequent action says the opposite. Instead of bravely confronting his supposed oppressors – presumably the police and the government – he sneaked off and never returned home. Not only was he not ready to die, he was probably not even ready for jail.
Police raided a flat in Tin Shui Wai and arrested Wong on Sunday. Officers also turned up some interesting evidence. Besides chemicals that allegedly could be used to make bombs, they also found a retractable baton, one stun gun, more than half a million dollars in cash and about 100 pills of suspected restricted drugs, including Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, and also marijuana.
Police also found a Guy Fawkes mask and protective gear used in war games along with computer circuit boards. His inclinations towards violence and sex are rather pronounced. And this guy is the convenor of Hong Kong Indigenous. So what does that say about this group and localism?
Those who have tried to justify and explain away the delinquent nature of this movement have helped create this monster. Their hatred of the government and Beijing has been blind to the danger this movement is posing to Hong Kong. And it’s not just Hong Kong Indigenous. Seeking independence through violence is fashionable these days among the young. The newly elected leaders of Chinese University’s student union, who have formed Spark, an activist group that advocates independence, have said that there is “no bottom line” when “fighting with force”.
The incoming University of Hong Kong student union president Althea Suen is less violent in her rhetoric but is also seeking independence for Hong Kong.
This is a political dead end that will only spell ruin for Hong Kong. However bad our government may be – and it’s really not so bad as pan-democrats have made it out to be – nothing justifies such a fruitless and dangerous path.
