Rampant racism in Hong Kong is why the government’s defence of its human rights record falls flat
- Alice Wu says the UN Human Rights Council rightly took Hong Kong to task over its handling of the advocacy of democracy and autonomy in the city
- For all the attention on these political developments, it is the government’s failure to address the everyday racism here that is most galling
So, a lot has happened in the past five years to take us to the day last week when Hong Kong’s situation was singled out for attention during the hearing on China’s report.
And since this city is so obsessed with accolades, we must recognise that this is “a UN first”. Those who fear “mainlandisation” should be popping champagne corks: Hong Kong has been singled out and recognised, this proves we are not just another Chinese city. No fewer than seven country representatives even made use of a portion of their allocated precious 45 seconds to talk about Hong Kong!
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The Hong Kong Universal Periodic Review Coalition, an alliance of 45 civil society groups, expressed surprise that Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung was part of the Chinese delegation to attend the hearing in Geneva. By sending a high-ranking official to represent Hong Kong, does it mean, as some believe, that the government has noticed the erosion of Hong Kong’s reputation as a city that protects human rights?
Well, maybe. Or perhaps Cheung was sent because he is trusted, notwithstanding recent media speculation that his boss is considering replacing him. Whatever the reasons, Cheung did not offer anything striking in his speech. His defence of Hong Kong’s record – calling the concerns “unwarranted, unfounded, and unsubstantiated” – did not impress.
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Watch: Stories of Everyday Racism in Hong Kong – Chained
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA