World
Hong Kong Politician Likens Protesters to African-American Slaves
Laura Cha
(New York Times) – A prominent businesswoman and politician has come under fire for comparing the Hong Kong protesters’ bid for democracy to that of African-American slaves.
Laura Cha, a nonofficial member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council, and the first non-mainlander to serve China’s central government at a vice-ministerial level, was in Paris on Wednesday promoting Hong Kong at a trade event when she made the analogy.
“American slaves were liberated in 1861, but did not get voting rights until 107 years later,” she was reported as saying by The Standard, an English-language Hong Kong newspaper. “So why can’t Hong Kong wait for a while?”
An online petition soon emerged denouncing Ms. Cha’s remarks and calling on her to apologize immediately.
