Senior adviser to Hong Kong leader Fanny Law stands by her claims 14-year-old schoolgirl offered free sex to frontline protesters
- Law tells the Post she knows for a fact the offer was made, but to reveal more details would be traumatic
- Facebook page operated by ‘fact checkers and rumour busters’ challenges Law to provide evidence or apologise for maligning young women involved in protests
A senior adviser to Hong Kong’s leader doubled down on a controversial claim she made on Monday that some young girls involved in the anti-government protest movement were misled into offering free sex to frontline demonstrators.
Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, a member of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s de facto cabinet, the Executive Council, said she knew for a fact that a 14-year-old schoolgirl had made such an offer.
“People are free to decide whether or not to believe it. Of course, I can trace the origin of the information through a trusted friend’s friend who knows the girl, but to reveal more details would be traumatic,” Law told the Post.
She was responding to criticism online after she first made the controversial claim on a radio talk show in the morning, saying she could confirm the story of the schoolgirl who later became pregnant.
A Facebook page operated by a group of “fact checkers and rumour busters” challenged Law to provide evidence or apologise for maligning young women involved in the protests.
“Preventive advice cannot be wrong,” Law told the Post. “Girls have to be alert and stay away from alcohol and marijuana in gatherings with ‘new’ friends whom they only met in various protest activities.”
The former permanent secretary for education added: “They have to protect themselves and avoid being abused.”
Earlier, in the morning show on government radio, Law said the girl in question was the daughter of her friend’s friend, although she admitted that was “second-hand knowledge”.
“But it’s direct. It’s real,” she said.
Law was responding to a listener’s email being read aloud, which alleged some girls were being tasked to provide “comfort” to frontline protesters.
“You may not believe a 14-year-old girl shared her story on social media; schoolgirls like her were labelled as angels tasked to provide comfort services to frontline protesters,” the email read.
“It was the girl’s first time. The schoolgirl said she then offered services to other protesters, every time a different man. She recently found herself pregnant.”
In response, Law said: “We have confirmed that this is a true case. I am so sad for these young girls who have been misled into offering free sex.”
Opposition politician Avery Ng Man-yuen, a guest on the programme and chairman of the League of Social Democrats, retorted that protesters did not have to risk police tear gas and bullets to have sex, which they can get elsewhere without being exposed to such danger.
Joseph Chan Cho-wai, a political scientist at the University of Hong Kong, said Law should be cautious about making such allegations.
“She should explain if it’s just an isolated case or if it reflects a general phenomenon,” he said.
