Socialist Action statement
Pro-government newspaper Oriental Daily has made a disgraceful sexist attack on Socialist Action’s chairperson Sally Tang Mei-chingPro-government newspaper Oriental Daily has made a disgraceful sexist attack on Socialist Action’s chairperson Sally Tang Mei-ching for her role as one of the organisers of Saturday’s very successful protest in defence of refugee rights in Hong Kong. Oriental’s editorial repeats its usual racist slurs against “fake refugees” but then sinks to a new low point even for the gutter press, saying that, “if refugees asked to be kissed, or even to take things further, Sally Tang Mei-ching would consent and probably enjoy it.”
This newspaper has spearheaded the racist smear campaign against refugees, which prompted more than 200 to protest on 30 April. It supports CY Leung’s government and wants to use racist lies to divert attention in the upcoming elections away from real issues such as the lack of a pensions system, affordable housing and democracy. The right-wing press has a track record of denigrating female activists especially using sexism in an attempt to bully women from playing a leading role in social movements. This attack will not succeed; we intend to reply with more protests against the racist sexist right-wing media.
