【VIDEO】Dr Karen | Pursuing Reality Among Sea of Fallacies
Dr. Karen Mak is a lecturer at a Hong Kong university. She also hosts television shows exploring the intersection between science and gastronomy. As an educator, Dr. Karen interacts daily with some of the anti-extradition movement’s primary supporters - university students. She asserts that she is not disappointed with their actions, but instead appreciates their immense motivation and drive.
“It could be that I am a scientist who strongly follows rational logic, but once I know a piece of information is false, I’ll simply stop sharing it. From that I’m doing my part in preventing bad information from gaining momentum.”
Journalist: Ada
Videographer: Kwankung, Doomookuun
Video Editor: Wujai
Photographer: Kwankung
The youth, specifically secondary school and university students, are a significant demographic of the movement’s supporters. Some people believe the root of the unrest lies in the education system in Hong Kong, which has radicalised these students.
While I definitely think there are fundamental issues with Hong Kong’s education system, I strongly doubt these issues were manifested in the anti-extradition movement. The flaws in Hong Kong’s education system have existed long before the unrest we see today.
Let us take someone we’re all very familiar with as an example. Carrie Lam was a top student every year in school up to her graduation, when she landed a job with the government. She quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Nobody knew that she would be a cold and heartless person, lacking in empathy and telling plenty of lies. She is empirical evidence that the flaws in Hong Kong’s education system have existed for a long time.
Although Hong Kong’s education system has flaws, many environmental factors also influence a person’s ethical values, such as their personality, familial upbringing, peers, etc. In addition, it goes without saying that when a person adopts bigoted views, their logical reasoning, consience and morals are biased.
The university students I interact with have hearts of gold and are full of wonderful ideals. Despite being under the immense pressure of the resistance movement, they have always completed their coursework and never skip class. In contrast, we, the older and politically unmotivated crowd, are too occupied with the fear of losing our jobs and offending others. We ignored the injustice taking place all around us. In the wake of our ignorance, the conscientious youth picked up the difficult task we abandoned, choosing to stand up for what is right.
I remember when a child I babysat after school hurt their shoulder, and I was really worried that the child’s mother would find out. As a result, I taught an innocent child to lie to their parents, for my benefit. Just consider: children have to be taught to lie. How pure would they be if we, the adults, did not teach them how to lie?
People in the community often criticise university students for their involvement in the movement, claiming that university students should not concern themselves with political affairs. However, if you are familiar with Hong Kong’s colonial history, you would know that opening a school in itself was a political endeavour[*1]. How then can you say that education and politics should not be related?
Also, plenty of university presidents and chancellor appointees in recent years have had relations with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) [*2]. In addition, where does university funding come from? It is pointless to argue that education and politics should remain separate concerns when both fields are already so interconnected. Politics is everywhere, and no one can separate themselves from politics. The anti-extradition movement didn’t start from a single reason, but instead a multitude of reasons. Solely blaming the unrest on education is not a productive debate.
On the topic of unproductive arguments, unproductive arguments include the claims that tear gas has no adverse effects on health, and the police are using the minimum amount of force.
Firstly, tear gas was invented for use in wartime and is publicly acknowledged as a chemical weapon. From my data and research, I know there are guidelines on how to use tear gas, such as the distance and angle it should be fired in, adequate space to fire, etc. It goes without saying that when failing to follow the correct usage, even an ordinary pen can become a weapon - not just tear gas.
In my opinion, an object cannot be inherently good or evil. Instead, this is determined by how the object is used. For example, Alfred Nobel invented dynamite as a stable alternative to gunpowder. While the stability of dynamite saved many lives that could have been lost during the transportation and handling of gunpowder, it was also used as a weapon that took countless lives.
I remember participating in an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth movement, where a specific part of the theatrical component left a deep impression on me. Back then, the military intervened to suppress the protesting students and citizens but chose to only use the stock of a gun and avoided firing bullets directly at people. As described, a lethal weapon can be used in a non-lethal way, while a non-lethal weapon can be used in a deadly way. The mentality of the weapon user determines whether or not it is good or evil.
In reality, there’s justice when there’s injustice, there’s good when there’s evil, and there are yellow ribbons (pro-democracy supporters) when there are blue ribbons (pro-establishment supporters).
Someone once asked me, “how do you deal with the blue ribbons from spreading lies or fake news?” It could be that I am a scientist who strongly follows rational logic, but once I know a piece of information is false, I’ll simply stop sharing it. From that I’m doing my part in preventing bad information from gaining momentum.
When presented with fake news, I’ll remain calm. I’d like to draw a parallel with biology with the concept of natural selection. Some people are blonde, some people have dark hair, some people’s thumbs are longer, some people’s pinky toes are longer. The culmination of the variations is individuals and a species that sustains life for generations.
We even encode this struggle in our fairy tales. Snow White was fed a poisonous apple, and Cinderella lived with her abusive stepmother. Yet, we see how they were able to live happily ever after with their princes after overcoming their challenges.
Hence, the blue ribbons and the “silent majority” are different but have a purpose in existing. The problem is, how do we contend with them? The answer, of course, is to share and promote factual information to as many people as we can. Art and culture are good ways to affect our society and politics. In our current tumultuous political environment, making new promotional materials is a great way to channel our frustrations into action. However, the messages we send must be of high quality. I think this is a surefire way to support the movement.
As for the future of the movement, from a pessimistic point of view, it could become an underground movement. Those who are capable of emigrating may choose to emigrate from Hong Kong. No matter how the movement develops, I think the most important thing is to make sure everyone does their part.
Some things simply do not change overnight. Just like the million year old clonal Pando trees - that while it looks healthy and strong, is actually slowly dying on the inside, taking a few hundred years to die. The movement is like a natural process, and we cannot be shortsighted. Remember that we will only have hope if we remain steadfast.
“I am Dr Karen, I am a HKer.”
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[*1] HKU is founded as a part of the 1911 University Ordinance reform in British colonial Hong Kong. https://www.hku.hk/about/university-history/the-early-years.html
[*2] CPPCC is a political advisory body in the People’s Republic of China.