Hong Kong nativists' constant need to find the next enemy makes no sense
Danny Chan deplores some Hongkongers' need to invent false rivalries just to fuel the movement. Wouldn't it be better to focus on the positive?
There is no such thing as Hong Kong "natives" if their nativism is bred from a reactionary womb that resists a vast array of invented and questionable rivalries, including against the local and central governments, throngs of mainland tourists and even street performers.
Though I can't say which materials will be used to sculpt the next invented enemy of Hong Kong, if this is really the only way the so-called localism or nativism movement can be initiated, then the situation is truly alarming.
Hassling street performers in Mong Kok for singing in Putonghua is a good example of this, particularly after lawmakers' rejection of Beijing's political reform package. Now a new enemy is desperately needed to reheat the cooling emotions of the younger generation and to, well, safeguard media exposure.
Without even a mild historical awareness, there's every chance that any sensible debate will be overshadowed by the need to find enemies
After all, you can't roar or throw things at a shadow and demand a standing ovation from your followers or the media; there must be a personification of hatred, with faces of course, as if these personas are breathing out the stale aroma of a bygone Hong Kong affluence.
But besides these imagined enemies, what else do we have in local Hong Kong?