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Apple Daily carried a biased and sensationalized "report" the other day, about this year's edition of an annual tour of the mainland for students from various places in the greater China region. I find the ill-motivated coverage upsetting and regrettable.

After a few days of thinking, I'm ready to share with the public calmly and honestly the truth about that trip, which took 400 youths from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guangdong, Shaanxi and the Tibet autonomous region to Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi province, and the ancient town of Pingyao, also in Shanxi.

It pains me to see Apple Daily paint a heavily distorted picture of the tour, to make it fit the "brainwashing" label it applied to it. It was a trip organized by students and for students, with a lot of help from many caring people. The organizing committee worked hard and overcame a host of difficulties to put the 400-member group together for the trip by train. Every detail of the whole undertaking, from recruiting participants to the itinerary and its execution, was planned with the participants' possible impression and reaction in mind.

And the preparation was completed without anyone's missing school, all for the purpose of providing an open platform for students from different areas of the greater China region to observe, think about and share what they would see on the trip and their reflections on it. It was also meant as a field trip for students to hone their skills in organization and communication, to benefit them in the future. That was the true purpose of the tour and we would never want it politicized. All we want is for everyone to know what such journeys are really about.

The destinations of that trip were Taiyuan and Pingyao in Shanxi province. The written plan for the tour states clearly it is hoped to give participants an opportunity to learn about the celebrated business tradition of Shanxi in ancient times, as part of China's traditional culture, particularly the core values of "profiting by the rules" and "mutual kindness". Participants were expected to compare business practices in ancient and modern times, as well as differences between the business and cultural environments of Hong Kong and the mainland, based on what they learned during the tour. Since it was focused on Shanxi, we also hoped the visit would help participants know the coal-rich province better and get them thinking about ways to better develop the province, which is also known for heavy industry and vintage vinegar.

To make the experience balanced and inspiring, participants were given information about various aspects of life in Shanxi, both positive and negative, before they embarked on the journey. And there was a contest for participating students to come up with their own proposals to address some of the outstanding issues the province faces. Apple Daily, not surprisingly, made no mention of those facts in its coverage of the tour.

The full name of the tour contains "Love our Chinese nation," which refers to Chinese on the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the rest of the world. The ultimate goal of the trip is to enhance exchanges between Chinese youth from all these regions. Some people are probably allergic to the word "Chinese" but cannot deny the fact they are seen as ethnic Chinese wherever they go.

Given the diverse backgrounds of the participants, their opinions on various topics are bound to differ, but that is exactly why the organizers wanted to give them an opportunity and a platform to increase mutual understanding. The fact that an Apple Daily reporter was able to discuss sensitive topics such as the June 4 (1989) incident and the governing party freely while touring the mainland, shows how open-minded the participants and organizers are.

In absolute contrast, Apple Daily maintained a hostile stance toward the tour throughout, beginning with sending an undercover reporter who pretended to be a secondary school student and who worked as a spy, and ending with a totally biased "investigative report" that can be described as personal opinion at best. It is nothing but a politically-motivated attempt to cause unrest with a sensationalized and biased story.

According to Apple Daily's logic, it won't be long before any trip to the mainland qualifies as a "brainwashing" journey, but I'm sure the majority of Hong Kong residents and particularly the younger generation see clearly who is truly trying to "brainwash" the public.

I for one do not want to be brainwashed by Apple Daily and will not let anyone do that to me without a fight. I hope members of the public will reject attempts to politicize mainland tours aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and inclusion. Besides, it is simply suicidal for Hong Kong to keep itself away from the mainland or refuse to embrace our Chinese identity.

The author is chairperson of Friends of the Hong Kong Youth Exchange. This is an excerpted translation of her commentary published in Wen Wei Po on Aug 20.

(HK Edition 08/23/2012 page3)