Hong Kong’s ‘wolf’ tells the flock to be more like ‘sheep’ after year of protests

Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung, nicknamed the “wolf” by critics, said residents of the Chinese-controlled city should be more like sheep after a year “rife with differences”, including months of sometimes violent pro-democracy street protests. Leung was delivering a Lunar New Year message to mark the Year of the Sheep, or Goat, in the Chinese calendar that is based around 12 animals of the zodiac.

Last year was no easy ride for Hong Kong. Our society was rife with differences and conflicts. In the coming year, I hope that all people in Hong Kong will take inspiration from the sheep’s character and pull together in an accommodating manner to work for Hong Kong’s future.

Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung

Leung described sheep as “widely seen to be mild and gentle animals living peacefully in groups”. The dictionary describes a sheep as “a creature that follows meekly, is at the mercy of the wolf or the shearer and displays tameness of spirit”. Meekness is perhaps not a trait that describes the Occupy Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution protesters, who turns out in the hundreds of thousands last year.  Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that gives the city more autonomy and freedom than the mainland and a goal of universal suffrage. But Beijing’s refusal to grant a fully democratic election for the city’s leader in 2017 infuriates pro-democracy activists and politicians who blame Leung for not standing up for their rights.

I don’t think [the chief executive] is saying we should follow like sheep. I think he refers to the virtues of sheep. But] then he himself is doing exactly the opposite to provoke so much confrontation and he is tearing the society apart.

Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau

Asia-Pacific be like sheep