Vulgar Legco rebels must be suffering from deep self-hatred

US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s fixation over pronouncing China like the last two syllables of “vagina” has caused quite a stir and a lot of laughs (thank you, Alec Baldwin), but at least it makes some sense now – now that the recording of him in a lewd discussion with TV host Billy Bush has been made public.

And then we had two Hong Kong lawmakers go out of their way to call China “Cheena” (or “Shina” if you wish) in taking their Legislative Council oath. It’s a derogatory twist, more offensive than calling ethnic Chinese “Chinks”. “Cheena” isn’t just another word for China. It carries degrading connotations (the dehumanisation of the Chinese people by imperial Japan), and painful historical wounds (Japanese invasions). It is unacceptable, unfit for the public sphere and displays a lack of concern for human decency. And, as in the case of Trump, it should raise the question of whether the pair who purposefully uttered it possess the necessary judgment, temperament and character for public office.

Three rejections and multiple deviations mark Hong Kong Legislative Council swearing-in

Instead of admitting their intention to taunt and offend, Youngspiration’s Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching chalked it up to their “accent”. Yau then accused critics of discrimination. That’s as ridiculous as Trump’s accusations of moderator bias, being given a defective microphone and, more recently, blaming “locker room talk” for his disgusting comments about women.

Leung refused to acknowledge the offensiveness of the term, citing Sun Yat-sen’s use of the word. But the term did not reach its full derogatory status until May 1930, more than five years after Sun’s death, when the then government of China rejected the name and made it clear others cannot determine what their nation is to be called. Perhaps Leung should go a step further, and blame Sun for dying before “Cheena” had lexically evolved fully into being offensively oppressive. Sun’s use of the word does not cure its evolved perniciousness. To assume so would be to embrace a deliberate ignorance of history.

Hong Kong government accuses localist lawmakers of hurting feelings of Chinese with ‘offensive’ oath-taking

By Leung’s “logic”, “negro” should be acceptable, too, given that Abraham Lincoln used the word. Fortunately, Leung is wrong, or the US Army would not have had to apologise in 2014 for mistakenly stating that the word was acceptable in referring to black or African American personnel.