My Take | OK, insult us blue-ribbons, but leave our dogs alone
- An offensive sign put up by localist district councillor Lee Man-ho doesn’t just insult his enemies, but demeans his own office
I am “blue-ribbon” and love dogs. That’s why I was particularly upset by a Chinese-language sign put up by Cheung Sha Wan district councillor Lee Man-ho in front of his office.
“This office does not serve blue ribbons,” it said. “Blue ribbons and dogs are not allowed to enter.”
A radical localist, Lee solidly belongs to the anti-government “yellow-ribbon” camp. As he put it in an interview on D100 Radio: “I do not consider blue-ribbons are humans – yes, I really did say that.”
After being called out for putting up the sign, Lee defended himself by saying he was only following the wishes of those who elected him in the November polls. Okay, but why insult dogs? District councillors are elected and paid by taxpayers to help administer their neighbourhoods, advise the relevant government departments on local problems and policies, and listen and help locals. Are dog owners in Cheung Sha Wan not his constituents, too?
Of course, if you know something about modern Chinese cultural history, you may have guessed Lee and his assistants were making a reference to an old imperialist signage, part of old communist propaganda, that supposedly said: “Dogs and Chinese Not Admitted”.