A SENIOR mainland official stationed in Hong Kong said Tuesday he regretted remarks made by a well-known mainland professor, who called Hong Kong people “dogs of imperialism.”

    Peng Qinghua, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, made the remarks at a Chinese New Year banquet for Hong Kong political and business leaders.

    “It not only caused discontent among Hong Kong people, but also criticism from the mainland,” Peng said.

    “Hong Kong has made irreplaceable contributions to the country’s development and we have a strong belief that mainlanders and Hong Kong people cherish each other,” he said.

    In a talk show on Internet news site V1.cn on Jan. 19, Kong Qingdong, a Beijing University professor who was a guest commentator, was asked to discuss a recent heated exchange on a subway train carriage involving Hong Kong locals and a mainland family.

    Commenting on the dispute about a mainland child illegally eating on the carriage, the professor took issue with how the incident was handled, saying the Hong Kong man ought to have advised the child politely that she was violating the rules of the subway.

    Kong also noted how Hong Kong citizens sought to differentiate themselves from their mainland counterparts.

    “You [Hong Kongers] are Chinese, right? But as I know, many Hong Kongers don’t think they are Chinese. They claim that we are Hong Kongers, you are Chinese. They are bastards,” Kong was quoted by South China Morning Post as saying.

    “Those kinds of people used to be running dogs for the British colonialists. And until now, you [Hong Kongers] are still dogs. You aren’t human.”

    The professor also took a pot-shot at both Hong Kong and Singapore, saying both countries depend heavily on rule of law as part of their governance, and that Singapore people have to abide by regulations in order to act appropriately in public.

    A report in The Straits Times quoted Kong as saying, “If a society had to maintain its order through strict laws such as hefty fines for littering, as happened in Singapore, its ‘law-abiding’ image does not reflect the true nature of its people,” he said. “Instead, it shows they are a servile bunch who can be whipped into line.”

    Kong’s remarks on the show sparked the ire of both natives in Hong Kong and the mainland, with many viewers criticizing the professor’s remarks for being insensitive.

    Hong Kong’s <<>> reported that angry Hong Kongers protested against those comments and demanded an apology from the professor.

    Political figures also entered the fray, with Hong Kong’s former chief secretary Henry Tang quoted by the <<>> as defending the SAR’s rule of law as one of its core values, and something which locals should be proud of.

    Tang also reportedly highlighted the need for Hong Kong natives and mainland Chinese to understand the cultures of both sides.

    However, according to a SCMP report Sunday, the professor had denied calling Hong Kong citizens “running dogs for the British government,”adding that both mainland and Hong Kong media outlets had “maliciously twisted his speech.”

    “Did I say Hong Kongers are dogs? I didn’t,” he was quoted by SCMP as saying. “I request all media outlets which have twisted my speech to apologize.”

    (SD News)