English Reading

Vendetta cause rings hollow

Wednesday, September 07, 2011 Mary Ma (The Standards)

A hundred radicals led by a number wearing Guy Fawkes masks stormed a by-election forum last week. They might want to justify their act with the symbolic mask that, in the 2006 film V for Vendetta, stands for the destruction of a totalitarian regime . But they are wrong. Through their own acts, they're making a mockery / of democracy, and destroying the base of their so-called moral high ground. Security guards who tried to keep peace were injured. Pan-democratic lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung shamelessly tried to pass the buck by accusing others of consulting the public on the by- election question. The violence helps to unmask what the radicals are exactly up to. They have no regard for law and order that the rest of society depends on for peaceful living - it's anarchy that's on their minds. If they had respect for democracy, they should have allowed others to deliberate free of hindrance . French writer Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire came up with the famous quote: "I disagree strongly with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That's called democracy, right? What pity young radicals- many of them having received elite education subsidized by society - have ignored this basic lesson that they should have learned. At times, I can't help question what kind of education their universities have been providing. Freedom of speech must be protected and respected at all costs. As University of Hong Kong vice chancellor Tsui Lap-chee vowed to defend his students' freedom of expression, something equally important was missing - why didn't he remind them to respect others' freedom with equal emphasis? The majority of society stays silent, but it doesn't mean they agree with the escalating violence and protesters' disrespect for others' rights to express different views. There are signs showing that patience is wearing thin. On Saturday, as hundreds of protesters marched to police headquarters to cover its external wall with a large black sheet - demanding the resignation of police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung - a woman pedestrian stopped to argue with them. The demonstrators may insist the V mask is symbolic. Indeed, they may feel safer behind it, thinking they don't need to pay the cost for their actions. If the trend persists and the majority continues to tolerate it without speaking out, I'm worried the situation may mushroom into a crisis and society will end up paying a heavy price. What happened during the London riots serves as a warning of what hooliganism , could mean. The most violent rioters covered their faces with masks. Page

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After local police slapped tight security around Vice Premier Li Keqiang during his recent visit, the Bar Association quickly disputed the legal grounds behind the operation. Unfortunately, society has yet to hear the same mutterings / from the association in regard to the V-mask violence.

Save misguided souls

Monday, September 19, 2011 C Choi (The Standards) I would like to thank Mary Ma for voicing out ("Vendetta cause rings hollow," The Standard, September 7) on what would be a crisis if our so-called "pillar of society" is steered on a wrong path by an incompetent vice chancellor, Tsui Lap-chee. He not only signaled the wrong message to University of Hong Kong students who, regrettably, have not shown the caliber expected of them but was also wrong to defend students' morally incorrect and naive actions. At the same time, the true rationale for democracy was bent . If they chant slogans for Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang Wai- hung to step down , I think Tsui needs to go first. It is really alarming that our prestigious university may churn out a whole batch of "educated' citizens who sadly portray no wisdom, astuteness or judgment but have blatantly / exposed themselves as shameless and rowdy / hooligans /. Lawmakers "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung and Raymond Wong Yuk- man are no better. What Hong Kong needs to thrive and become a respected and cosmopolitan place is an orderly society that allows and appreciates freedom of speech and where citizens are civilized, cultured, compassionate , ambitious , decent and pragmatic . We desperately need someone firm, virtuous and intelligent to be on the mark and to save our misguided souls.

1. A hundred radicals led by a number wearing Guy Fawkes masks stormed a by-election forum last
week. They might want to justify their act with the symbolic V -mask. In the 2006 film V for Vendetta, stands for the destruction of a totalitarian regime . So, they want to destruct a totalitarian regime.

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