Wrong, Hypocritical and Rude – Arthur Li’s “Hero” Theory
) B' _ n% Q: Q, r9 A/ [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbBy Alex Ho @ Progressive Lawyers Group (法政匯思)/ P: U: y9 s0 |9 T3 n' R+ }, e% I
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' `# E1 I+ O/ {5 a# N( aTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。For all its virtues, education, sadly, is no guarantee of good judgment, good morals, or good manners. Arthur Li (李國章) is a case in point. About a week ago, the former Education Secretary was asked, in the context of the Umbrella Movement, why Hong Kong’s students have become so politicised. This is what he had to say, on prime time TV:
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“Many of these students who take part in these political activities are not particularly academically gifted. And they like to be heroes to their girlfriends and so on. And therefore if they can stand out and wave banners and shout slogans, they could look like a hero, couldn’t they? And I think this is the attraction of it.”5 s O- d. z$ \# l, a
0 m0 f# l2 t( |. x+ S5 tThis is, frankly, a ridiculous statement.公仔箱論壇, G( X: P% d. G6 B+ C$ _
+ e1 T/ z3 X( x8 QFirstly, it is entirely misconceived.% W) ^7 ^9 i7 i' n; }2 A. Y2 @
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Since Mr Li is blithely unaware (or wilfully blind), let me put this bluntly. The students certainly did not occupy to impress girlfriends or indeed anyone. You might impress a loved one with a compliment, a gift, or an achievement. But you do not do so by spending 79 days in great discomfort on the streets and exposing yourself to the risks of police brutality, public condemnation, criminal punishment (including potential imprisonment), future reprisals (from career opportunities to crossing the border), and disruption to studies and all the pressure from all the above. All that does is to make your loved ones deeply concerned about your personal and physical well being. Even if this were not evident, all Mr Li would have to do is read a few of the countless testimonies, and interviews – some deeply moving – of students fighting fiercely with their families over their participation and experiencing these tremendous risks, pressures, and discomforts. If occupation had been so glorious for the students, why would so many of their families have resisted so bitterly?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb- x( c, z8 K& `
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Indeed, I have not read a single testimony or interview where a student stated that he had taken part to impress loved ones, or that he had successfully impressed someone by doing so. Quite the contrary. Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), for instance, has repeatedly insisted that the many international awards he received following the occupation were undeserved and that the credit belongs to its participants. Indeed, Wong’s earlier book was actually entitled ‘I am not a Hero’ (我不是英雄). Similarly, Lester Shum (岑敖暉) has emphasised that he is no hero, but rather an ordinary university student who accidentally found himself participating in the movement. Further, Shum has often said that he is uncomfortable with the celebrity culture that has developed around him and that the focus should revert to the issues at hand. All this conduct is markedly at odds with that of someone seeking to play the hero.! g" G8 q" G+ Q9 ]% P: X
: D4 N' C0 A9 }) }, j S0 a& HCertainly, many people do consider the students to be heroes. But it is one thing to do something selflessly and then be regarded as a hero (which is what actually has happened); it is quite another to do something for the intentional purpose of being so regarded (which is what Mr Li, incorrectly, suggests has happened).tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb* Q& B& e0 e3 w, F4 W+ _1 {
P0 K: ?7 i- s+ nAs for his comment on academic ability, Mr Li is just as wrong. It is difficult to see any logical reason why a less academically able student would be any more likely to participate in a protest than a more able one. Indeed, Mr Li provided no evidence at all for how he came to conclude that the students who participated in the Umbrella Movement were “not particularly academically gifted”.
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So Mr Li’s statement is patently misconceived. But worse, it is also deeply hypocritical (in more ways than one).
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If the students were only protesting to impress their girlfriends and others, then could it not also be said that Mr Li’s statement was merely to impress his family and allies? And if banner-waving and slogan-shouting shows are so deserving of condescension, then why has Mr Li not made the same criticisms for such shows by Robert Chow (周融) and his Alliance for Peace and Democracy (保普選反佔中大聯盟)? And if those who wave banners and shout slogans fall by definition into the academically ungifted, then surely those who make allegations that are unsupported by logic or fact must do so too?
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Finally, Mr Li’s statement was unthinkably rude, demeaning, and unnecessary.公仔箱論壇" l$ U' t3 p; `7 P1 t5 c( r
4 a# w' v, J1 IThe students were exposing themselves to immense risks, pressures, and discomforts to fight for a promise that was being broken and for a vision of a fairer Hong Kong – in part because adults such as Mr Li which should have been doing so were not doing so. Even if Mr Li found it impossible to empathise with the students, there is no reason why he could not simply have debated their actions on the merits. Instead, what this former Vice Chancellor and Education Secretary no less chose to do, was to mock the students openly and personally. How cold, how heartless, and how worthy of condemnation in the strongest terms.5.39.217.76( t& R$ P* ?/ t6 D- M
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At about the same time, the HKU Academic Staff Association released a poll. 85% of the staff polled said they had no confidence in Mr Li’s serving on the HKU Council. Some commented that he was a “bully” and a “bombastic unreflective loose cannon”.
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Mr Li’s latest statement echoes this loud and clear. Nothing in Mr Li’s history suggests he will pay heed and reflect. But on the off chance he does, that reflection should certainly include a prompt retraction of his statement and a sincere apology to the students for it.9 M5 T O2 C# N' t2 p4 ?3 m
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發表於 2015-5-5 10:49 AM
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