My Take | YouTuber rounded on the Hong Kong government, then apologised
Pro-Beijing commentator who goes by the pseudonym ‘Wah Kee’ should have the courage of his convictions when it comes to criticising officials
The 2019 anti-government riots in Hong Kong popularised several pro-Beijing critics on YouTube. One I sometimes listen to is Wah Kee, not because of any insights from his channel, but because I enjoy hearing his rude vocabulary and loud voice as he works himself up into an amusing online outrage.
His expressiveness is characteristic of grass roots Cantonese, at least as it is spoken by the older, that is, my generation. So basically it’s all a bit of homesickness for me, like arguing politics with Hong Kong taxi drivers.
His tongue-lashing against the rioters was sometimes spot on, and he has continued rounding on the “yellow” camp ever since. Occasionally, though, he would go after the Hong Kong government, often reflecting widespread public discontent. These are usually his most provocative clips, but then inevitably, he would realise the error of his way and later apologise abjectly.
His latest rant against the government of John Lee Ka-chiu is no exception.
And of course, he begged for forgiveness afterwards from his “deep blue” fans and local officials who he probably imagined, in a moment of paranoia, might chop his head off to “scare the monkeys”.
His offence? He said “western” – that is, the Hong Kong Liaison Office located in Western district – had become powerless, and asked why we needed so many lawmakers in the legislature, implying their presence was just a waste of public money. He said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po should have been the first to go, presumably referring to Lee’s abrupt sacking of his tourism and transport ministers, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung and Lam Sai-hung.
Hong Kong was a land of good fortune, he said. But these officials had turned a good poker hand dealt to them into a losing bet. He also asked how the government managed to hit a projected HK$100 billion in its budget deficit, seemingly blaming Chan for it.
