Opinion

As Hong Kong protests spark clashes among overseas Chinese, the way to mainland hearts and minds lies via the moral high ground

Nationalistic mainland Chinese overseas may not have the full picture on the reasons driving the protests in Hong Kong and further afield

It is up to supporters of the movement to provide that context, so that today’s opponents can become tomorrow’s supporters

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Billy Huang is a media veteran who has worked at leading organisations across the Pacific, including Xinhua News Agency in Beijing, CNN headquarters in Atlanta, MediaCorp in Singapore, KyLinTV in New York and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

Published: 3:00am, 24 Aug 2019Updated: 3:50am, 24 Aug 2019

Last Sunday, an estimated 1.7 million people joined the mass protest in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. The rally was peaceful, showing the world that Hongkongers can advance or retreat as required. More amazingly, protesters apologised for the sporadic violence and inconvenience caused to the public at the airport.

That apology helped reinstate my confidence in the resilience and adaptability of Hong Kong protesters. Yes, violence will only invite fear and doubt but apology ensures understanding and support.

Clashes between supporters of Hong Kong and Beijing have spilled over to other parts of the world popular with Chinese diaspora, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

On July 29, pro-Hong Kong demonstrator Serena Lee was pushed to the ground in an on-campus brawl with pro-Beijing students at the University of Auckland. The video showing her fall made media headlines, but what struck me was that, at the very beginning of the video, two mainland Chinese students threatened her on camera, saying: “You cannot win either a physical or a verbal fight, why do you bother to protest?”