Two pro-Beijing figures have come under fire for insensitive comments they made regarding a Hong Kong politician whose sentencing on public nuisance charges related to the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests was delayed yesterday due to a large brain tumor that requires immediate surgery.
Steven Ho, a lawmaker from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Protection of Hong Kong (DAB), wrote on Facebook: “When it’s time to pay your debts, everyone says they’re suffering from a terminal illness. You win…” and included a link to a news report about Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan.
https://www.facebook.com/stevenhochunyin/posts/658388494597632?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARALS9fskNvVBcW5cDyqpTTkRqa-JY9J0fEgvWk1L2lCqlPgsTzZct85eTFlnN3Aukc_9uMfoF2cVakxq637f70awUNl0qYHIXLeZSrjyPMrsTocZetr2WVZHNQsd1ocwnnDFtlGvu2UhBurB16jU39GuXi0vdBzxmb4ZgqKmA9wJggdGUssYhX0PtDtuhiXhNDSQrRr-8DX4kwnhfWNDnt8HHNopsOL3thkZ_QKP0VTqwunk0Io1_oZXBwgtTHLR6wHkX3DsAd_HEPdY4Bhy_3yfAOYtLVeK36vM84CKvDRyiFTHHI8W6XFXS9HrxkKhL7X1GgJz-WqzYlUkI_prKo&__tn__=-R
Chan was one of nine pro-democracy activists who were convicted under controversial colonial-era public nuisance laws for their roles in bringing large parts of the city to a standstill during the 2014 protests. She was due to be sentenced along with her co-defendants on Wednesday morning, but the judge decided to postpone her sentencing until June 10 after it was revealed she has a tumor bigger than a ping-pong ball on the left side of her brain.
Similarly, Stanley Ng, a Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress, also joined in the tumor-bashing, posting on his Facebook page: “Illness should have no bearing on sentencing. Are the criminals again playing procedures with the court?”
https://www.facebook.com/ngchaupei/photos/a.1042104162489175/2452492958116948/?type=3&theater
Hundreds of people flooded Ho and Ng’s Facebook posts with angry comments calling the duo insensitive and “cold-blooded,” while others asked if the pair were questioning the credentials of Chan’s doctors.
One person commented on Ho’s post: “Are you saying that a doctor fabricated Chan’s report and she actually has no brain tumor? Are you saying a sentence being adjourned is the same as not being sentenced? As a lawmaker how can you make comments like this about someone’s health?”
(Indeed, in a post revealing the tumor yesterday, Chan included brain scans showing the mass.)
Another commenter said of Ho: “What you just said clearly shows you have no compassion for others and that you’re not qualified to be a lawmaker.”
Other people to weigh in included Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who described the comments as “horrendous,” and pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo, who posted on Facebook a screenshot of Ho’s post with the word “scumbag” in Chinese.
Responding to the furor hours later, Ho put up another post saying that he was merely giving a first impression rather than picking on Chan, which, frankly, we don’t think anyone was buying.
“If I were one of the nine, I wouldn’t report my disease to the judge at this moment because it would hinder me from achieving my initial goal of pursuing justice by breaking the law,” he said, being such an expert on civil disobedience and all.
The sorry-not-sorry post went on to say that Ho would apologize to anyone who found the original post offensive, but he refused to retract his remarks, saying “I should be honest and speak my mind.”
https://www.facebook.com/stevenhochunyin/posts/658464764590005?__xts__[0]=68.ARCBPFAtnQ17xnY-6oaPaKrLcFAfntAlsX2piRtMblECQ1ha9H5yoc3d2B-Ii9L65Lvlo4S7tcwbWBW4fQbCIGzBEqwC4IIEuGWPFvHiuXajKFfc6XqbEqaieGuwsT7T0G1HbAPg8n7OQ69bxBnBrz6ovjGiaIBkYf7Qg8Zo0-x4jJKUd778KI0gVoAbrjAAaBosBalGPQdPZzC9z8cjm4nj92e_IEm3hBOeZMmVn_X7Dhi4uizS3Epy7zeHURAV1LWJQ4wggFZIWk2-Cpm1UnwHH4OhOjiV4UkV3An_5KsuaPt6rw0J2aGXDjzJiAdMkbgf3oR1aS92RzEeF9U&__tn__=-R
Ng also refused to retract his comments, saying the court should only deal with “humanitarian considerations” after sentencing, and added that his comments had nothing to do with whether he has sympathy. He added: “I oppose the Occupy movement and I believe criminals should not be given cover.”
DAB’s chairwoman Starry Lee refused to comment on whether or not Ho’s comments were appropriate, only saying that he had reflected people’s feelings and that “it’s inevitable people have different feelings and comments about it,” Stand News reports.
