Letter to Hong Kong students from 'Shenzhen student' draws mainland criticism
Many criticisms of the advice to go back to class come from students themselves; some speculate it was a propaganda ploy
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 02 October, 2014, 3:23pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 02 October, 2014, 6:57pm
Andrea Chen [email protected]
University students in Hong Kong kicked off a week-long class boycott on September 22 to protest against Beijing’s decision to set tight restrictions on the city’s chief executive election in 2017. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
An open letter allegedly written by a Shenzhen high school student calling on his (or her) Hong Kong counterparts to “return to classrooms” has come under fire on mainland social media.
Critics questioned whether the letter was a propaganda exercise orchestrated by the mainland authorities after it was reposted by the official Weibo account of the state-run Global Times, published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
The signed letter – entitled “We share the same home – China” – was published by Shenzhen-based news website sznews.com on Wednesday with the byline “Si Yu, a senior student from Shenzhen No. 2 High School”.
Si wrote: “I am so confused when I learnt that some Hong Kong students my age boycotted class and went on [the] street that I can’t help but speak from my heart as your neighbour and your peer.”
He (or she, there is no way to know) added: “Whatever political system we are living in, the most important politics for us as students is to study hard.”
University students in Hong Kong kicked off a week-long class boycott on September 22 to protest against Beijing’s decision to set tight restrictions on the city’s chief executive election in 2017. The boycott escalated into pro-democracy protests in many of the city’s major commercial districts after police used pepper spray to remove students who stormed government headquarters to demand political reform on Friday night.
“As students we have very limited understanding about politics … It’s easy for us to be instigated by slogans when we are young,” the letter said. “Even if we had turned 18, it would leave a record when we are incited on to the street, which could affect us for life.
“I was young when Hong Kong was handed over back to China. But I can still recall the festive atmosphere.”
The student added: “I like Hong Kong so much that I feel sorry to see it turn into a chaotic city.”
The letter, posted by the Global Times on Wednesday, has been reposted more than 3,200 times, with most microbloggers questioning if the letter was propaganda from the mainland authorities.
“I wonder how old the student is and how poor his grades must have been. Seventeen years have passed since the handover but he is still in high school,” a microblogger from Guangzhou wrote.
“The writing is so poor, even for a fake open letter,” a teacher from Chongqing wrote.
“Besides the age of the ‘student’, I could not get the logic of his argument. He remembers Hong Kong being a beautiful city back in 1997, and doesn’t like it being chaotic today. Isn’t it why Hong Kong people have been protesting after the handover [against Beijing’s ruling that turns it into a chaotic place]?” said another microblogger from Singapore.
Calls to the high school went unanswered on the second day of the week-long National Day holiday.
