Earlier this month, Hong Kong localists criticised Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China (HKASPDM) for using “Love the Country. Love the People. Hong Kong Spirit” as the slogan of this year June 4th Night Vigil and called for a boycott. Some localists have even vowed to hold a separate vigil at Cultural Centre Piazza. Whether to boycott HKASPDM’s June 4th Night Vigil has become a bitter debate.
The founder of Tiananmen Mothers, Ding Zilin, despite opposing to the boycott, criticised the use of the slogan on Radio Television Hong Kong yesterday. According to the Standard,
Ding Zilin said “love the country” is similar in meaning to “love the party” in the mainland and people there have stopped using it.
“I don’t really know why [organizers] raise such a slogan and it is foolish. Such a slogan is no longer being used in the mainland,” Ding said yesterday on an RTHK radio program.
Ding Zilin even revealed that HKASPDM had asked her to attack Hong Kong localists. According to Mingpao,
Ding Zilin revealed that HKASPDM sent her emails and newspapers several times, telling her to criticize localists’ “sophistry”. Ding opposes to the boycott of the vigil; however, she disagrees with the patriotic slogan. Later, she said a committee member whose last name is Tsui sent her an email response.
Ding stated that the email has 16 points: point no. 4 mentions that HKASPDM perseveres with the patriotic slogan; point no. 5 criticises her for not understanding the current situation of Hong Kong; point no. 3 says that the innate quality of the pan-democrats is caring about Chinese stuffs and development. This is patriotism. The email also calls Ding suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Ding said that she understands the situation of Hong Kong, “(HKASPDM) treats me as if I were an illiterate old woman; treats me with contempt.”
Ding didn’t know what “Stockholm Syndrome” was initially. She later looked it up on the internet, “I’ve to scold vulgarly. This is a humiliation of my integrity. It’s outrageous”. She also described the content of the email as “bullshit”, “I gave him some opinions on this year night vigil and wish he would improve it. Even if my opinions were wrong, I would not deserve such humiliation!”
Ding said, “As a democratic organisation, the way they handle things is undemocratic, treating me with undemocratic attitude. I gave some opinions. You then called me suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. I’ve read stuffs they forwarded to me. Opinions from the localists aren’t completely illogical. She continued, “HKASPDM thinks it is number 1; thinks arrogantly. I think this is undemocratic. As an organization fighting for democracy, it uses such methods to handle me and Hong Kong localists. This is too despotic…. They even attack us, and call the localists 50-cent party. “
The Birth of Localism
Fellow blogger, The Real Hong Kong News, translated “Review and Forecast of Hong Kong’s Anti-Communist Ideology”, in which Apple Daily’s Li Yi details the birth of localism: part 1 and part 2
Nationalism Booster
In the exam for 2013 DSE General Studies, despite a news article implying the wastefulness of filibusters was chosen, June 4th Night Vigil was surprisingly put into the same category with Baodiao Movement and the relief effort for 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, both of which are considered as intensely nationalistic.
Netizens’ Comments
狂狼樂隊: Originally, I believed that the reason why HKASPDM used the repelling slogan is because of nationalism; however, as the incident of Ding Zillin was exposed, I see that HKASPDM wanted to use Ding as a tool to attack localists…
—More netizens’ comments later—
Dictionary of Politically Incorrect Hong Kong Cantonese 
There ought to be no shame in fighting for greater democracy, whether for oneself or for others. Linking universal values to Chinese patriotism is unnecessary and only hurts the movement. Besides, the currently unity of China is artificial. The current China is kept together only via the PLA. I only pray we can get stable nation-states from the ashes rather than the warlordism of the 1920s.
If HKASPDM is also trying to censor and dismantle the “two systems”, there might be no hope left except for hardcore localists.
By not taking a middle ground, they are going to push more people to the extremes. Soon there’s only going to be two positions available: either you love Beijing or you want total HK independence.
Hong Kong can never truly survive under China. Hong Kong is way too weak, I cannot see a democratic Hong Kong under a democratic China continuing under as ‘Hong Kong’. Hong Kong will soon lose its “Hong Kong-ness” faster if it is under the current Communist China rule, and slower under a democratic China. But one thing is certain, Hong Kong under Chinese rule will inevitably destroy Hong Kong’s core distinctiveness; whether this is in the long run or in the short run; it will happen. The only way to preserve Hong Kong Culture, Hongkongers, Hong Kong, etc, is to formally separate from this large influence.
It’s seen in the history as well with Japanese and Korean culture being heavily influenced by China, and China wasn’t even rule Japan nor Korea (not fully at least). It shows the heavy influence of the Chinese dynasties and China as a whole. If one is to escape the influences of China, it needs to formally separate and boost local/national culture.
If Hong Kong is to stay ‘Hong Kong’, there is only one way out: Independence. Truth be told, there has always been only two choices: Submit to Chinese rule, and soon become the same as the Chinese whether slow or fast, or become independent.
[…] las preparaciones de la conmemoración se vieron eclipsadas por un debate sobre su tema “Ama al país. Ama al pueblo. Espíritu de Hong Kong”, que algunos ven como demasiado a favor […]
[…] for a boycott against HKASPDM’s June 4th night vigil because the group used the slogan “love the country, love the people“. At the same time, HKASPDM retaliated Hong Kong localists by asking Ding Zilin, the founder […]