Has Vivian Kong united or divided HK?

By Chris Yeung

Making a dramatic comeback to clinch a gold medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, fencer Vivian Kong won applause from her fellow Hong Kong citizens in the city and in different parts of the world.

Her fighting spirit, which she described as Hong Kong Spirit, has done magic burying the sharp political divide among the Hong Kong populace, which was aggravated by the 2019 anti-government protest ignited by a now-shelved extradition bill. The magic proved to be short-lived, if not illusionary.

Doubts about her political stance began to surface following a string of media reports about her links with pro-Beijing groups and participation in government programmes such as youth events.

Doubts turned to disappointment and anger after her master’s thesis at Renmin University in Beijing came to light on social media. It soon went viral.

As of Saturday, Kong has not publicly confirmed the thesis is hers. Entitled “Occupy Central and Its Effect on Hong Kong Election Reform”, the paper praised the revamped “patriots-only” electoral system as an important measure to put the city back on the right track after disruptions caused by the 2019 anti-government protests.

It also argued that some “anti-China disrupters” had misinterpreted the concept of “one country” in the “one country, two systems” governing principle and exploited the city’s elections to enter the political system, resulting in a possible constitutional crisis.

Making her first appearance in public on Saturday after returning from Paris, she shared her experience at a youth event organised by the Government and seemed to have stayed clear of the controversy over her views on Occupy Central. It proved to be too late.

From an Olympian fencer whose achievement on the sports field had united the divided society at one point, Kong has arguably become a splitter. Her verdict on the 2014 protest in her thesis has put her on the side of the regime and, to pro-democracy Hongkongers, on the wrong side of history.

To the hundreds of thousands of people who had either participated or given spiritual support to the act of civil disobedience, they cannot agree with Kong’s verdict.

To be fair, the fencer has kept a distance from politics and has rarely made comments on political issues. It is also unfair to jump to any conclusion on her studies at a Beijing university and membership in a pro-Beijing youth group.

But the revelation of her stance on the Occupy Central movement has revealed her true colour.

It is still unclear who and how her thesis was leaked to the media. It is perhaps the last thing she wants. But the damage is done.

She has become the target of attacks by netizens on social media. Some pro-democracy activists who joined the chorus of praises for Kong’s success made an about-turn, blasting her stance on Occupy Central.

As soon as Kong became the enemy of what the regime and their allies have seen as their enemies, she has emerged as the authorities’ role model of Hong Kong youth who “love China, love Hong Kong.”

Secretary for Security Chris Tang, known for his hardline views and provocative soundbites, threw his weight behind Kong, bashing critics of Kong as “brainless”. He hailed the fencer as a government supporter who “condemns violence”, saying she had been targeted by “villains nitpicking or even attacking” her.

Tang’s defence of Kong is a case of “kiss of death”. Undoubtedly, Tang looks certain to win applause from hardliners in the pro-Beijing camp. But Kong may have to pay a price for being embraced by the highly-controversial minister.

It is not a price being measured in terms of her professional career. There is no doubt there is a lot she can achieve after joining Hong Kong Jockey Club.

It is the unique non-political, or neither “yellow” (pro-democracy) nor “blue” (pro-establishment), but purely athletic value she has possessed that could help her play an important role in easing divisiveness in the city. That value is gone in a matter of days.

Make no mistake. In view of the deep wounds to social harmony in the wake of the Occupy Central and the 2019 social movement, Kong will not possibly be able to repair the damages single-handedly. Nor is she able to cause long-term damage to unity and harmony. Barring no fresh dispute caused by her, the controversy will likely cool down soon.

Hopes for the home-grown Olympian star who had been above politics could help ease the tense socio-political atmospherics were dashed as soon as she slipped into politics. It could not be more ironic the controversy sparked by her paper has rubbed more salt on the old wound.

This article was first published on the Green Bean website.