Divided city needs to hear chords of compromise
- Political views of singers should not stop you from enjoying their music, and it’s never the case that one side is completely right and the other wrong
Alan Tam Wing-lun has reportedly sunk into a deep depression. The Canto-pop superstar has been subjected to the most relentless vitriolic attacks in print and social media since he appeared on stage at a rally with tens of thousands of people in a show of support for the police more than a week ago.
Many former fans have abandoned their idol and started a campaign to destroy collectors’ items, especially Tam’s old vinyl albums.
His assistants have been calling out diehard fans to show support and help lift him out of his terrible gloom.
It’s all very strange. Tam is almost 70, an old-timer who’s been around the block a few times. What did he expect the reactions would be after showing support for the police in a such a high-profile manner? Don’t get me wrong. I think the police have shown extraordinary discipline and restraint in the past few weeks and remain Asia’s finest.
By extension, I also support Tam and appreciate him taking a stance. But as they say, don’t go into the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat.
And I can’t stand listening to him sing. On the other hand, I still listen to Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, the prettier half of the old Tat Ming Pair, and Denise Ho Wan-sze, the singer and actress.
Both are hard core yellow-ribbon activists who have been merciless in their attacks on Tam in the past week. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but Wong and Ho are hands down better musicians than 99 per cent of so-called singers out there today.
I couldn’t care less about the political views of some entertainers, whether or not they agree with me. I would rather have a nail driven into my forehead than listen to Bono pontificating on Africa’s debt relief, though The Joshua Tree by U2 remains one of my all-time favourites albums.
But in crazy, divided Hong Kong today, friends, relatives and strangers are often judged by their political positions. You are either friend or foe, for or against us.
However most people are neither completely yellow nor blue. I happen to share Ho and Wong’s advocacy of LGBT rights and legalised same-sex marriage. I just don’t think our police are Nazis.
No one side has a monopoly of virtue or vice. It’s never the case that one side is completely right and the other wrong. Recognise that, and there is still hope for compromise and dialogue.