Prominent liberal academic Benny Tai says he fears for the future of fear speech in Hong Kong after being slammed by a wave of backlash for comments suggesting the city could one day become independent.
Tai, a leader of the 2014 Occupy Movement and professor at Hong Kong University, made the comments last month at a forum in Taiwan.
He suggested that,聽, according to RTHK.
Since then, he has been rebuked by Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Hong Kong government, which said it was 鈥渟hocked鈥 by what it characterized as 鈥渋ndependence advocacy鈥; slammed by mainland publications; and condemned by pro-establishment lawmakers, with some pushing HKU to take action.
According to RTHK, Tai said he did not support Hong Kong independence and was only exploring options should China become democratic.
The vehement response, he said, suggested Hong Kong鈥檚 government may raise the baseline for that Beijing is pushing the city to adopt, in order to target, not just violence, but also speech.
He likened the attacks to the type of public shaming that occurred during China鈥檚 Cultural Revolution, saying they aimed to stifle opposition to the establishment.
鈥淚t is a calculated plot against me 鈥 to [declare] that any discussion on Hong Kong independence 鈥 albeit not directly endorsing [the notion] 鈥 would not be allowed in society and universities,鈥 Tai t.
According to the newspaper, Tai said he saw no reason to apologize for the remarks, which he argued had been taken out of context.
Today, a group of about for Tai, according to Apple Daily.
Protesters chanted “support Benny Tai,” “an attack against Benny Tai is an attack against us,” and “long live freedom of speech.”
Speaking to reporters outside the liaison office, Tai said he was聽“pleasantly surprised to see so many people,”聽adding “the people here are not just supporting me, but also supporting freedom of speech in Hong Kong.”
