HK people don't know how to be citizens: Annie Wu

HK people don't know how to be citizens: Annie Wu

Pro-Beijing businesswoman and outspoken critic of the SAR's protests, Annie Wu, said on Wednesday that Hong Kong people can be "quite senseless" and they have not been "trained as citizens", as she also lamented that parents have failed to instil a sense of national identity in their children.



Wu, who is the eldest daughter of the founder of the catering giant Maxim's Group, said in an interview with CGTN – the international arm of mainland state broadcaster CCTV – that parents in Hong Kong must learn how to nurture their children correctly if they want to have a better society.



"Sometimes, for all the riots, you can see the parents are coming out not to blame the children, but to blame the government, to blame the police," she said.



Wu, who founded the Chinese Foundation Secondary School in Chai Wan, said parents in Hong Kong only care about providing their children with the best life possible, and are "very much not in tune" with Beijing's thinking.



She singled out parents in their late 30s and early 40s as being a particular problem, saying this is because they have never experienced any "hard times" in Hong Kong and they spoil their children.



They have not received "accurate" national education and have not been "trained as a citizen or as a national", she added.



Wu, who recently said that she had lost all hope in the next two generations of Hongkongers, told the broadcaster that Hong Kong people can be polite and disciplined when they are at work, but can become "quite senseless" when it comes to matters involving their family or personal well-being.



During the six-minute interview, she also accused the Education Bureau of being "out of touch" since the handover for failing to promote national education in kindergartens and schools.



She added that some teachers are "anti-China", while the SAR's media outlets have been "very supportive" of the pro-democracy protests.



In September Wu told the UN Human Rights Council that the actions of a "small group of radical protesters" did not represent the 7.5 million people of Hong Kong.



The comment outraged protesters, with many boycotting Maxim's restaurants and shops, and the group's outlets also becoming a target for vandalism.