Opinion Say baa

Over the years, political figures have come up with sensitive suggestions for the people they are supposed to govern. Eat cake (Marie Antoinette, queen, France). Women, don’t laugh loudly (Bulent Arinc, deputy prime minister, Turkey). And now, be like sheep, (Leung Chun-ying, chief executive, Hong Kong). As the Chinese lunar calendar entered the year of the sheep, Leung urged the people of Hong Kong to be more like the “mild and gentle animals living peacefully in groups”. If you ran a government that was widely mistrusted and reeling from pro-democracy protests, you might want to avoid woolly analogies. Not Leung. But maybe “the wolf” of Hong Kong was just trying to own his popular nickname.

Last year saw a fraying of the “one country, two systems” compact that Hong Kong has operated under since 1997, when the British handed it over to China. People already straining against the Chinese mainland’s control took to the streets when it was held that the candidates for the 2017 Hong Kong elections would be handpicked by a committee of “patriots”, that is, individuals appreciative of China. Leung, whose patriotism does not seem to be in doubt, had warned that the protests would plunge the country into “anarchy” and derail Hong Kong from its pursuit of democracy, which must be through “law”. Earlier, when accused of bullying a student magazine, he had had an unimpeachable defence: everyone has the right to freedom of speech.

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So it is not surprising that in Leung’s democratic utopia, people should be like sheep. Sheep are easily herded. Sheep are suggestible and tend to follow the group in whichever direction it is led. Sheep do not ask questions. Leung was clearly trying to lead people down the best democratic path. What a lamb.