Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s biggest airline
Even the chief executive officer (CEO) apologized three times
A transcript of a flight attendant of Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s largest airline, making discriminatory remarks to mainland Chinese passengers who cannot speak English or Cantonese has been released. As the controversy escalated, the Cathay Pacific Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) personally apologized, and the flight attendants in question were fired.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 24th, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam said in a statement, “We have fired three cabin crew members who made discriminatory remarks against mainland Chinese passengers.” We will be looking into it to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” After the incident, Cathay Pacific issued an official apology three times within two days, evolving the controversy.
Earlier, on the 21st, a passenger who boarded Cathay Pacific Flight CX987 from Chengdu, China to Hong Kong posted a recorded file on social media, saying that the flight attendants mocked mainland passengers. According to the file, flight attendants said to a passenger who asked for a blanket and said ‘carpet’ incorrectly, “You can’t get a blanket if you don’t say it in English. The carpet is on the floor.”
In addition, about passengers who do not understand Cantonese, it was revealed that they said, “They do not understand human language.” The crew communicated in English and Cantonese. The standard Chinese language is Putonghua (Putonghua/Mandarin). Cantonese is spoken in southern Guangdong Province and Hong Kong.
In China, people in Hong Kong were outraged that they looked down on mainlanders. The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said the day before, “While foreigners are worshiped and Hong Kongers are respected, mainlanders look down on them.” We need to severely correct mistakes and establish rules and regulations,” he raised his voice.
The People’s Daily said, “The level of Mandarin in Hong Kong is improving by leaps and bounds. In Hong Kong, the headwind of worshiping English and ignoring Mandarin is inevitable.” In Hong Kong, where English was the dominant language along with Cantonese, education in putonghua by Chinese authorities has been emphasized since large-scale anti-government protests in 2019.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.