A famous Hong Kong actor and singer apologized on Thursday, proclaiming his patriotism, after praising the late Queen Elizabeth II. His tribute to the monarch drew the ire of nationalists in China, who saw it as a sign of nostalgia for the days when Hong Kong was a British colony.
Thousands of Hong Kong residents lined up outside the British consulate this week to sign a book of condolences for the monarch, who died on September 8 after 70 years of rule.
Among them was Law Kar-ying, 75, a heavyweight of the Cantonese opera scene, who posted a selfie on Instagram from the queue with the message: “Hong Kong was a blessed land during his reign.” Instagram is banned in mainland China, but Law Kar-ying’s post has gone viral on other social media, drawing anger and criticism from nationalists.
“I am Chinese and I love my motherland forever”
Law Kar-ying posted a video on Weibo, China’s Twitter, on Thursday apologizing for “making thoughtless mourning remarks.” His Instagram post has since been deleted.
“My original intention was to express my condolences for a deceased old lady and I would like to ask everyone not to misunderstand what I said,” Law Kar-ying says in Mandarin in this video.
“Il m’est impossible d’oublier mon origine et mes ancêtres. Le fait que j’ai conserve un chinois dit tout, je suis Chinois et j’aime ma mère patrie pour toujours. Je suis désolé”, ajoute-t- The.
Colonial past, nationalist present
Hong Kong was a British colony for more than 150 years and although the financial center was handed over to China in 1997, it still has a recorded history, from the street names and the ubiquity of English to the justice system.
While the reaction to the queen’s death has been more measured in other former colonies, in Hong Kong some 6,700 people, including some government officials, had signed the condolence book at the consulate on Thursday, with queues lasting up to four hours. wandering around the business. district.
As China seeks to stamp out dissent after huge pro-democracy protests three years ago, these mourners have often expressed nostalgia for the colonial past.
Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper reporting to the local Beijing liaison office, published a comment Tuesday accusing “anti-Chinese elements and anti-Chinese media” of “whitewashing the colonial system” by encouraging mourning for Elizabeth II.
Nationalism has grown in China under the presidency of Xi Jinping and any perception of criticism or disloyalty to the country can cost celebrities or businessmen dearly with consumers.
Many comments on the video that Law Kar-ying posted on Weibo were not convinced by his apology. Some even advised him to “learn from his wife,” Liza Wang, also a Cantonese opera star who was a Hong Kong delegate to the People’s Congress before 1997.
Source: BFM TV
