Olympic fencing queen Vivian Kong Man-wai’s academic paper that supported the “one country, two systems” governing principle was on Sunday defended by a top Hong Kong government adviser, who condemned “rabid attacks” on the gold medallist as the work of “fawning puppets” of external powers.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the Executive Council, the government’s key decision-making body, said the “disgusting attacks” appeared to have come from people living overseas to evade the legal consequences of undermining national security and who were “only good at barking at people who have made real contributions”.
The 30-year-old épéeist won Hong Kong’s first gold of the Paris Olympics, but later came under attack after her master’s degree thesis was circulated on Reddit-like LIHKG, an online forum popular among protesters during the 2019 unrest.
Kong’s academic paper, submitted to Beijing’s Renmin University for a master’s in constitutional and administrative law in 2021, explored major Hong Kong protests such as the Occupy Central civil disobedience movement of 2014 and the 2019 social unrest.
She argued the protests revealed misconceptions about the constitutional order among some Hongkongers, who prioritised “two systems” over “country” in the one country, two systems governing principle.
The paper also praised Beijing’s “patriots only” condition for political participation in Hong Kong.
Ip said it was only natural for Kong as a Chinese national to support one country, two systems, which would not have survived and thrived beyond the 1997 return of the city to mainland rule without the support of central authorities.
Ip suggested the attacks on Kong, her political stance and achievements as an Olympian originated from former residents who had fled overseas.
“These people are cowards,” Ip wrote on social media. “Some of them had advocated ‘civil disobedience’ but forgotten that the true practitioners of ‘civil disobedience’, like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, all faced up to the legal consequences of their unlawful acts and served time.
“These despicable exiles have no achievement to speak of. They are only good at barking at people who have made real contributions and toadying to unprincipled foreign politicians clutching at incendiary issues, like ‘China threat’ or ‘overcapacity’, to score political points.
“The rabid attacks on Vivian’s political beliefs are an ugly reflection of the perversity and deformity of these fawning puppets of external powers. I am sure she will brush all such ugly insinuations aside.”
Kong, who announced on Sunday she was to put her fencing career on hold, has also notched up an impressive string of academic achievements.
She earned a degree in international relations from prestigious Stanford University in the United States before she studied at Renmin University.
Kong is at present studying for a Juris Doctor law degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Kong’s thesis sparked intense online debates. Some internet users ridiculed her as a “future chief executive” because of her pro-Beijing stance.
Others said her contributions on the sports front should be respected and that people should not mix that with politics.
Ip said she doubted Kong would embark on a political career despite some speculation.
“She has already pocketed three university degrees, including one in law,” Ip said. “With her intelligence and resilience, I am sure she will be a tremendous asset to the legal profession if she chooses to go down that path.”
