World champion Sarah Lee reopens social media page three months after being criticised for controversial comments
- Fans support Lee for embracing freedom of speech and speaking out for Hong Kong
- Some say she has no right to represent Hong Kong because of her support for protesters
Track cycling ace Sarah Lee Wai-sze reopened the social media page she closed three months ago after being accused of making political comments supporting anti-government protesters.
On 2019 National Day, the reigning world champion posted on Facebook that “We have to be careful to avoid the rain today. If you don’t bring an umbrella, you better go home early”.
Many netizens interpreted it as supporting the anti-government movement as there was no rain that day. They accused Lee of supporting protesters who took to the streets trying to upstage Beijing’s National Day celebrations on October 1. In June, she also posted the Chinese words for “Add Oil”, which can be interpreted as “Come On”, a common phrase used by many protesters.
Lee, who is also studying for a professional and creative writing degree at Baptist University, said when reopening the page: “Please forgive me for closing the page for three months which involved a lot of different reasons, among the biggest was that I did not want to see people abusing each other on the page, especially among Hong Kong people.
“Many people had asked me when to reopen it again. I have to say I have been struggling for a while, fearing there may be fabrication from the media, fearing people who may use their own words to interpret my sentences, fearing speculation made by people on the internet, fearing getting involved in political turmoil, fearing it may affect the Olympic Games …. But in the end I don’t want to abandon it. I won’t back down because of these fears. I hope I can continue as before, keep writing and training in cycling and at the same time spreading positive energy through the page.”
Hongkongers praise Sarah Lee’s ‘Come On’ Facebook post
Lee’s page earned support on social media. One contributor said, “Everybody is born to have freedom of speech. No need to fear. Always go forward as an athlete”, while another posted, “Thanks for speaking out for Hong Kong. It’s so precious. Support you!”
There were also negative comments. One said, “No worries. The central government knows it well. Those rebels cannot represent Hong Kong, China any more!”
The cyclist, who won two gold medals at the 2019 track world championships in Poland last March, is widely considered Hong Kong’s best medal hope at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
