Monday, 15 May 2023

“Running for office in U.K. helped me, a mainland immigrant, feel accepted by British society”

Click above for article. Comments like “try this in China!”
Meantime, here in Hong Kong it’s been rapid movement backwards on any public voting issue. Like for District Councils, now mostly appointed. We’d been moving towards universal suffrage for the DCs and also the whole of government. 

I took part in District Council elections as Campaign Manager. I could have put my own name forward if I’d wanted. But some hotheads got it into their minds that “good is not perfect”. And incremental is not fast. So demanded independence. Which led to the National Security Law and “Hong Kong run by patriots”. No more elected councils, no more me putting my hat in the ring. Well done, Freedom and Democracy fighters! Who, to this day, don’t admit their culpability. Sigh…. Yue Parkinson tells her story in Britain:

The experience of running for office in this month’s UK local elections was a profound and quick way to dispel a stereotype that had existed in my mind for many years – that the British look equal but are actually deeply racist. I was surprised and heartened to discover that the British electorate really did not care about my looks and accent.
Before I started canvassing, my biggest concern was my immigrant status and my accent. As soon as I opened my mouth, my strong Chinese accent showed I was a first-generation immigrant. Had I not been unexpectedly invited to stand for election, I would not have considered myself eligible to be a candidate for the local elections.

I have not experienced much racial discrimination in British society in the almost 20 years I have been here, something I have always found surprising and admirable in the progress of equality in the UK.

However, my interactions with the mothers of my children’s classmates have led me to believe that, in general, British people deliberately ignore my presence and don’t want to talk to me. I met other mothers every day when dropping off and picking up my children from primary school. It was not a comfortable experience; most deliberately ignored me. More …