China's government mouthpiece yesterday compared Hong Kong's leading democracy campaigner Martin Lee (李柱銘) to one of the most notorious traitors in Chinese history.
The invective lodged at Lee indicated Beijing was still fuming over his recent mission to the US to promote democracy in the territory.
The Xinhua news agency said Lee was like Wu Sangui (
"What's shameful is Martin Lee relied on foreign forces and willingly became the foreign forces' pawn," said the Xinhua commentary.
"It's not at all excessive that Hong Kong people scolded Martin Lee and his followers as `Wu Sangui' and `traitors' ... He will eventually be cast aside by Hong Kong people," the commentary said.
Wu is considered one of the biggest traitors in Chinese history partly because his surrender was motivated by his desire to rescue his concubine.
The commentary said that by going to the US to testify in a Senate hearing on Hong Kong's political situation, Lee was "degrading himself" by "lying" to foreigners about Hong Kong's situation.
Lee's action "only hampers the development of Hong Kong democracy," the commentary said.
"Hong Kong society will realize that what will make Hong Kong's democratic development not be undertaken smoothly are actually these people who are shouting democratic slogans," it said.
But the under-fire Lee shrugged off the criticism yesterday.
"I didn't lie," he told Hong Kong Cable TV of testimonies he and three other campaigners gave to the US Senate's East Asian and Pacific Affairs sub-committee.
"We told them what the public wants and their concerns about the Chinese government because it rejects Hong Kong people's wishes for democracy," Lee said.
"I went there to give Americans the true picture ... and they [China] are still criticizing me. There is nothing more I can do," he said
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