He Liangliang: Cambridge, stop using the legacy of the Empire as an arrow

Source: Global Times

A few days ago, the dean of Watson College at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom sent a letter to Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and honorary member of the academy, holding that she had punished teachers who criticized the government and prevented students from singing and shouting slogans in school, which "deviated from the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression and expression", and asked her to reply. Carrie Lam then decided to voluntarily return the title of honorary academician.

The event was a so-called storm in a teacup, but it also reflected the political aspects of the soft power of Britain and even the Western camp. There is a precedent for this sort of thing. Many universities or localities in the West have stripped Myanmar's State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary degree or title, on the grounds that she is "responsible for ethnic cleansing in Myanmar." Lam voluntarily returned the title of honorary academician because she disdained to "defend" The Watson College.

The question posed to Lam by the Walson School was not an academic question, not a theoretical one, but a political one, and it was clear that the Academy had a clear answer to these political questions.

In the European Middle Ages, a king could make someone a knight and have a corresponding fief, with the purpose of cultivating the loyalty of the nobility to the royal family. In modern society, there are no resources behind these titles, but those who have titles can still obtain certain honors. The University of Cambridge is a prestigious institution in the UK and an important part of the legacy of the British Empire. Although the British Empire has long since disintegrated, its legacy has always existed, its soft power is relatively strong, and it has a wide influence on language, literature, education, law, financial system and law, shipping system and law, outdoor sports rules, etc., and the United Kingdom and even the "Five Eyes Alliance", whether during the Cold War or the 21st century, is fully and comprehensively using this influence politically to suppress their opponents. The cunning lies in the fact that these soft powers are packaged as "international rules", and to obey me is to abide by international rules, and vice versa, to destroy, to punish and sanction, all of which ultimately serve the national interests of the "Five Eyes Alliance". For those who do not cooperate, even if they belong to the Western camp, they are still suppressed, and the "American trap" is a vivid example.

The case of The Watson College also fully shows that such a college with an international reputation has consciously cooperated with politicians in the clamor of the West against the Hong Kong National Security Law, which does not harm the Hong Kong SAR government and the chief executive, but degrades its own academic status. At the same time, whether it is sanctions or the cancellation of the training of the British police for the Hong Kong police, they are all driving fish for the abyss. Hong Kong has become an international financial center, not only due to its own geographical and cultural advantages, but also from the Chinese mainland as a hinterland, not by the gifts of London and Washington, and Hong Kong will continue to exist as an international financial center in the future.

Some people in the West believe that China makes full use of globalization to develop itself, so it must squeeze China out of globalization, which is difficult to achieve. China's development has also led to globalization, and to exclude China from globalization is like cutting off water and flowing more. Lam Zheng returned to Cambridge honorary academician, Hong Kong has no loss, but shows that Hong Kong people are the right choice in the face of great right and wrong, indicating that the suppression of the West can only be counterproductive, but also let Chinese especially those who are still superstitious about the West see that the era of taking the legacy of the British Empire and commanding the times has long ended. (The author is a commentator on Phoenix TV)