{"id":17042,"date":"2020-05-17T14:51:34","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T06:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=17042"},"modified":"2021-06-23T15:28:29","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T07:28:29","slug":"the-stranger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2020\/05\/the-stranger\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stranger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A pro-democratic Shanghai-born Hongkonger helps new immigrants speak out and fight against discrimination for Mandarin speakers <\/strong>in the city<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 21, 2020, a mainland-born sociologist Minnie Li Ming went to a \u201cyellow restaurant\u201d which supports anti-extradition bill movement protesters.  <\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The restaurant operated by Kwong Wing Catering announced on January 28 that it would \u201conly serve Hong Kong customers and accept orders in Cantonese or English\u201d on its Facebook page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kwong Wing Catering made a post on Facebook declaring that they would “only serve Hong Kong customers and accept orders in Cantonese or English” on January 28, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to see our society become so radically antagonistic,\u201d Li says. \u201cMandarin speakers are not enemies of (Hong Kong) society.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li, together with her five Mainland immigrant friends and two Hong Kong friends visited the restaurant and ordered food in Mandarin, but the staff insisted on serving them in Cantonese. They finally managed to make an order by writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The restaurant owner who promised to meet her in the evening that day did not show up at the end, nor did he respond to Li\u2019s message. When leaving, Li and her friends gave the restaurant staff some masks and hand gel to thank them for being supportive of the social movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI failed to communicate with the owner, but someone has to give a try,\u201d Li says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a Stranger to a Hong Kong Pro-democrat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li, 35, is now a lecturer of the Education University of Hong Kong. Sharing the Chinese name of superstar Leon Lai Ming, she is an immigrant from Shanghai. After finishing her undergraduate study at Fudan University, she came to Hong Kong to pursue further studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is known to the public mainly because of two hats she wears: A Mainland immigrant and a high-profile supporter of the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong. When she started her postgraduate study, she was a supporter of the Beijing government and planned to return to the Mainland after graduation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u201cBut gradually I felt I couldn\u2019t go back (to the Mainland) \u2026 My thoughts have changed. I can\u2019t get used to it (social environment of the Mainland) anymore,\u201d says Li. \u201cYou can\u2019t say what you want to say, care about what you want to care. You can only work hard to make money like my peers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 4, 2009, she attended a candlelight vigil at Victoria Park for the first time – where tens of thousands of people gathered to mark the anniversary of the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Li, in her 20s, changed her view on what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989 after the visit. \u201cI found that what I learnt in history lessons in the Mainland was wrong,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gifted in language and having grown up in a metropolis, Li integrated well into Hong Kong. She has become a pro-democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many Hong Kong young people, she took to the street during the Occupy Central Movement in 2014. Knowing that students were protesting at Civic Square, an open space outside the Central Government Offices in Admiralty on September 26, she bought some water and food, hoping to lend a helping hand to young protesters there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been there before,\u201d says Li. \u201cI didn\u2019t know it was impossible to deliver water and food to the protesters until I got there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witnessing a social movement of such a large scale for the first time in her life, Li was both overwhelmed and curious. Although she stayed at the back of the crowd, she was still pepper–<\/ins>sprayed by the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Li\u2019s father came to Shenzhen to visit her the day after the protest. She recalls her father\u2019s reminder: \u201cYou are a Shanghainese but not a Hongkonger. Even though you support them and join the movement, they still call you \u2018locust\u2019. Then why\u00a0did\u00a0you go there?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His words made Li think about her identity and relationship with Hong Kong. She then figured out that her support for the social movement is not based on identity, but the ideology she believes in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Encourage New Immigrants to Speak Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li used to work part-time at Midnight Blue in 2015, an organization aiming to protect rights of male and transgender sex workers. The experience makes her realise that she has integrated into Hong Kong society so well that she has overlooked difficulties other new immigrants encounter. She finds new immigrants are just like those transgender sex workers, they are both not accepted by the mainstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe public think sex workers are shameful due to prejudice and lack of understanding,\u201d she says. \u201cSimilarly, new immigrants are thought to be greedy locusts.\u201d She believes misunderstanding can be reduced when people learn more about new immigrants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Li was in a gathering of new immigrants who support anti-extradition bill movement on June 9, 2020. Photo courtesy of Minnie Li Ming<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On May 31, 2019, Li organized a signature campaign against the proposed extradition bill, but most new immigrants who supported the campaign only signed their surname fearing of getting into trouble. \u201cThey are as miserable as the gays go to a church,\u201d she says.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The brochure collects news stories and interviews about new immigrants’ participation in the anti-extradition bill movement. Photo courtesy of Minnie Li Ming<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To make a change, Li led a group of new immigrant protesters on June 9, 2019 in a demonstration. She held a huge banner that said: \u201cDo not ask where protesters come from. New immigrants protect Hong Kong\u201d.<\/ins> Participants gathered under the banner belonging to new immigrants for the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their action received a warm welcome from many local protesters, although occasionally they faced discrimination which made them feel very upset. But Li still hopes new immigrants can make themselves visible in Hong Kong by participating in the social movement. \u201cBeing visible and accepted is a source of power,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWe are not just a cheering squad for local protesters. We are a part of the society. We also fight for ourselves,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li also invited members of the New Arrival Women League, an organization consisting of grassroots female immigrants, to join them. \u201cThe image of new immigrants ought to be enriched, rather than being limited to the intellectual or middle class,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIntegrity Is the Only Way Out\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her high-profile involvement in pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong, an article she wrote about her visit to Kwong Wing Catering caused a heated debate in social media platforms. Some supported her, but some criticised her of provoking the restaurant operator to find flaws with ill intentions, though she holds the same political stance and views with them in the anti-extradition bill movement.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Li does not regret going to the restaurant. \u201cThey just carve some people out of the society with a simple and arbitrary standard according to their stereotype, without considering the complexity of identity in the real world,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Li believes people should not label or hurt others for speaking different languages, and every individual is unique and should not be judged by certain standards, especially in a social movement. Otherwise, a cutthroat world will be created. \u201cThe movement should make people feel being respected,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is wrong to think that people are just instruments and dignity is insignificant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Li was in a gathering of new immigrants who support anti-extradition bill movement on June 9, 2020. Photo courtesy of Minnie Li Ming<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She says that her biggest worry about the movement is some people may abandon their ethical standards. In an article she posted on her Facebook, she wrote: \u201cAs Albert Camus wrote in his novel Plague<\/em>, integrity, which means doing what you are obliged to do, is the only way out.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pro-democratic Shanghai-born Hongkonger helps new immigrants speak out and fight against discrimination for Mandarin speakers in the city. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1799,79],"tags":[1292,1491,1490,1492,1489],"class_list":["post-17042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-156","category-people","tag-antielab","tag-kwong-wing","tag-li-ming","tag-mandarin","tag-new-immigrants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17042"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17068,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17042\/revisions\/17068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}