According to a so-called "exclusive" Reuters report released Friday, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), submitted a proposal to Beijing earlier this summer that asked for "5 key demands" from the Hong Kong protesters to be taken seriously but was rejected.
The Global Times has since learned the Reuters story is fake. In fact, it intends to create an illusion by interweaving rumors with public events in an attempt to misguide public opinion. The story incorrectly refers to a joint symposium between the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government and the Hong Kong SAR on August 7 and takes advantage the HKSAR government with its rhetoric to add hues and colors to the fake story.
This has become a shameless public opinion battle. Reuters acknowledged they did not see Lam's proposal. The so-called sensitive breaking news was supposedly based on information received from three unnamed sources. Such action is comparable to the violent protestors in the streets of Hong Kong. It is believed the unnamed sources are fabricated, or they are fake news conspirators.
This fake story has arrived at a critical moment during the Hong Kong crisis and was aimed at sowing discord between China's central government and HKSAR. Since the protests began, the HK government and the city's police force have made all-encompassing efforts to maintain social order. However, external forces are determined to rattle HK police and sabotage the unified bond between Hong Kong residents and mainland Chinese.
The fact that the fake story was released on a Friday indicates how the events in Hong Kong have been turned into a battle of public opinion. It is already known that radical groups will stage illegal demonstrations on Saturday despite police opposition, thus providing a greater risk for a new round of violence.
The fake news about the HK government making concessions to the protesters is aimed at inciting more violence to be carried out against China's central government and provocation for more riots and destructive behavior.
When a crisis erupts in a developing country, some Western media agencies have played a disgraceful role by taking advantage of its communication influence. The Reuters report on Friday was an attempt to interfere with Hong Kong affairs. It appeared that Reuters had released an "exclusive" report, but it was really a malicious attempt to misrepresent the situation in HK and destroy anti-violence and peace-keeping efforts.
Riot and anti-riot behavior in Hong Kong have evolved. Protesters crave mob emotions to fuel their power. In that regard, the city preserves its former capitalist system while retaining close connections with Western countries. When the protests started, the US and UK played the role of firm supporter for the protesters. Now, both nations are igniting irrational emotion and manipulating local protesters like puppets to intervene with Hong Kong affairs.
The report is typical of Western news agencies that purposefully set out to create maximum change at minimum costs by shaping public opinion at critical moments. In light of this action, Reuters has severely deviated from the bottom line of journalism ethics that all news agencies should follow. It has carried out what US and British intelligence agencies usually do. Suspicion has already emerged the fake story was a backdoor maneuver by intelligence agencies with Reuters acting as their accomplice.
As one of the largest international news organizations in the world, how shameful it is that Reuters would engage in public opinion warfare against HKSAR and China's central government with such a boldly false and inaccurate report.
