2020年9月17日
Frank Ching
EJ Insight
China: Changing Hong Kong through Redefinitions
The ability to manipulate words and what they mean is a source of power in all societies, especially in China, with its long literary tradition.
Under Chairman Mao Zedong, workers were in theory the masters of the country while intellectuals were often criticized as "class enemies". But Deng Xiaoping, by redefining workers to include mental as well as manual laborers, made intellectuals ideologically respectable.
The powerful tool of definition, and redefinition, is being brought to bear now in Hong Kong. Five months ago, it was over the scope of article 22 of the Basic Law, which ruled out interference by central government offices in Hong Kong. ...
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