Video blogger faces wrath after blasting HK

Public outcry continues in the wake of a video in which an Asian-American internet celebrity made derogatory remarks about China and Chinese people, with netizens denouncing it as "unbelievably disrespectful", "annoying" and "seriously mean and impolite".

The six-minute video, shot in Hong Kong and published two weeks ago on YouTube, showed Bryan Le, who posts under the account name RiceGum, mocking Hong Kong people for not speaking English, asking pedestrians where people can eat cats and dogs and using derogatory words when referring to women.

After the video was uploaded, a wave of comments from offended netizens - around 46,300 - followed. They included such sentiments as "Worst video I have ever seen", "You just revealed your ignorance" and "That's so disrespectful. Just stop it".

"Hong Kong people felt offended and furious toward the video. The video blogger's act showed his ignorance about the city," Hong Kong lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan said.

Quat, founder of the Hong Kong-based Internet Professional Association, added that viewers can report videos to YouTube when they contain hateful content or depict violence against ethnic or national groups.

The video blogger, who is based in the United States, has more than 10 million followers. He posted another video on Tuesday.

In it, he defended what he had posted earlier, saying he was just joking, and his references to women were not uncommon in his home country.

Wong Kwan-yu, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said people should have the sense to respect foreign cultures, and to understand that what is tolerated in one's native country can appear rude and offensive in a different culture.

Another Hong Kong legislator, Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, who is also a lawyer, said she found it unfair to Hong Kong's international image, as the video spread the false message that cats and dogs can be eaten in Hong Kong.

The city banned the slaughter of dogs and cats and the sale of their meat in 1950.

She added that the video blogger and his friend, by touching others' hands on an escalator, could be committing common assault. They might also face a possible charge of disorderly conduct in public places or loitering for disturbing the clothes and gestures of plastic models or bursting into a shoe shop that was about to close.

The video also drew the attention of front-line youth affairs workers.

"Online videos are popular among young people, who may be influenced by what they watch," said Cecilia Ng Kam-kuen, a social worker from the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.

Most teenagers tend to share interesting and viral posts without checking if there is an issue with the content, Ng said.

She suggested schools and parents should educate young people and teach them to use critical thinking when browsing the internet, instead of taking in everything they are offered online.

askacheong@chinadailyhk.com

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