Hong Kong’s former leader CY Leung has ramped up his rhetoric against the Foreign Correspondents Club over its hosting of a talk by a pro-independence politician tomorrow.
Having previously said holding the speech by Hong Kong National Party leader Andy Chan was akin to giving a platform to “criminals and terrorists”, the ex-chief executive on the weekend went one step further, comparing it promoting “racism, anti-semitism or Nazism.”
The comments were delivered Saturday on Facebook, a platform Leung has used to unleash a barrage of criticism against the FCC, including raising questions about the lease of its iconic government-owned building.
“Would the Club invite speakers who promote racism, anti-semitism or Nazism? Ditto speakers who claim that the Holocaust and Nanjing massacre are figments of imagination?” Leung wrote.
“I advise not. And I believe the Club wouldn’t.”
The club has been criticized by Hong Kong and Beijing officials for hosting the talk by Chan, titled “Hong Kong Nationalism: A Politically Incorrect Guide to HK.”
For its part, it has stood firm, saying it had long invited a range of speakers from across the political spectrum and that hosting them did not equate with endorsing their views.
In his Facebook post, Leung noted a suggestion by former FCC board member Francis Moriarty that the club should invite him to speak on why discussion of nationalist sentiment in Hong Kong should be suppressed.
Leung’s response was that Chan and his party “do not just express sentiments”.
“Severing Hong Kong from China is an absolute red line,” he said.
Andy Chan’s speech will be live streamed tomorrow on the FCC’s Facebook page.
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