Britain hasn’t shown much support for the Occupy Hong Kong protests and fiery former Hong Kong chief secretary Anson Chan is pissed about it.
In an editorial published today in the Guardian, Chan didn’t mince words.
“One of the most profoundly disappointing responses to the events in Hong Kong has been Britain’s silence – or its weak words that have sometimes been worse than silence,” writes Chan.
She goes on to accuse Britain of acting without honour by not doing more to ensure freedom of speech and assembly in Hong Kong until 2047, as outlined in the 1984 treaty with China. She also says she feels personally saddened by Britain’s failings.
Some of the best bits:
The truth is that money talks. Talk to British business people and their first instinct is to keep their heads low; they just want things to carry on as before, would like the protests to disappear, and maintain good relations with China. The view from the British government is not much different.
…
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, has taken us through a sham consultation. The report he presented to the Chinese leaderships was dishonest and misrepresented the sentiments of the Hong Kong people.
If he had any courage, he should have presented the mainland leadership with the truth. They could still have chosen to ignore the will of the Hong Kong people, but at least his document would have been an honest one. But he’s clearly in the pockets of Beijing, which put him in place. Leung Chun-ying and his team have little credibility left and will find it increasingly difficult to govern Hong Kong.
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Now within the territory there is a sense of them and us. Those who make money are tempted to stay quiet, to maintain their links, their status. The rest, they want what many people want across the world – a good education and an open society.
Chan has never been shy about forcefully expressing her opinion, and we commend her for that.
In July at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club, Chan blasted Britain and Beijing in a speech saying the former had “sold out” Hong Kong and that the latter kept “moving the goal post” on universal suffrage.
In September in a Bloomberg interview, Chan urged countries around the world to care about Hong Kong’s plight, in light of their own agreements with China.
Read the entire Guardian editorial from Anson Chan here.
WATCH COCONUTS TV’S COVERAGE OF OCCUPY HONG KONG:
