Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing invokes poetry in call for end to protests and violence
- In a statement, he says ‘the melon of Huangtai cannot bear the picking again’ – meaning something has suffered so much that further attack would ruin it
- It didn’t go unnoticed in the mainland, with hashtag #LiKa-shingSpeakingOut one of the most searched-for phrases on Weibo – until it was disabled
If ambiguity in politics is an art, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing has once again proved to be a master of it.
The city’s business leaders have gone public one by one to condemn chaos and violence triggered by the massive anti-government protests. On Thursday, the 91-year-old, Hong Kong’s richest person, took out advertisements in some of the city’s newspapers.
Two full-page statements – one in colour and one in black and white – were both signed off with “a Hong Kong resident Li Ka-shing”. The colour one was more direct and straightforward, dominated by the Chinese word for “violence” with a cross through it, flanked by slogans about loving China and loving Hong Kong. At the bottom, it said “stop anger and violence in the name of love”.
But the advertisement had an interesting header that said “the best of intentions can lead to the worst outcome”. It did not specify what “the best of intentions” referred to.
The black-and-white full-page statement was minimalist in style. Apart from the header and signature, it contains only eight Chinese characters, which literally translate as: “The melon of Huangtai cannot bear the picking again.”
