| 2012 Kong Qingdong incident | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 21 January 2012 – late February 2012 | ||
| Location | Hong Kong | ||
| Caused by | Inflammatory remarks by Peking University professor Kong Qingdong; longstanding social tension in Hong Kong. | ||
| Goals | Expulsion of Kong Qingdong from Peking University[1] | ||
| Methods | Public protest, media campaign | ||
| Parties | |||
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In January 2012, Peking University professor Kong Qingdong made televised remarks suggesting that many Hongkongers were disloyal to China and still harboured a colonial mentality. Kong Qingdong called Hongkongers "dogs" in response to an online video posted about a mainland Chinese child eating on the subway, which is prohibited by MTR regulations. Similar laws like this did not exist in mainland China until 2020. This prompted a series of campaigns against Kong Qingdong in Hong Kong. About 150 people gathered at the Central Government's Liaison Office on 22 January to protest Kong's remarks.
The protests took place among a backdrop of increasing tensions between native citizens of Hong Kong and mainlanders, including the release of a survey indicating that Hongkongers feel increasingly separate from Mainland Chinese people.[2]
At the time of the protests, anti-Mainland Chinese sentiment in Hong Kong had been growing because of the large influx of mainland Chinese mothers arriving in Hong Kong to give birth, largely for their children to receive right of abode in Hong Kong and the social services that came with it.[3]