EJ Insight » Hong KongToday, 16:47
Leung Chun-ying must have known he was inviting ridicule when he mentioned the “One Belt, One Road” initiative more than 40 times during his Policy Address on Wednesday.
It didn’t take long.
A photo uploaded on Facebook by an anchor of the satirical website 100Most mocking the chief executive’s newfound obsession with Beijing’s project has quickly gone viral.
The visual gag is based on the kind of risqué pun that is the stock in trade of Cantonese humor.
“One Belt, One Road” in Cantonese is “Yat Dai, Yat Lo”.
“Yat” means one. But when spoken, “dai” can mean “belt” or “wear” — there is no difference in tone.
Similarly, “lo” can mean “road” or “expose”.
In the picture, the male anchor, Dong Fong-sing (東方昇), wears a bra that is tilted akilter to show one of his nipples.
So take your pick: “One Belt, One Road” or “One clothed, one exposed”.
The saucy picture delighted enough viewers of Dong’s Facebook page to receive 30,000 likes and 7,000 shares by Thursday afternoon.
100Most generated another 25,000 likes by sharing it on its Facebook page.
Since President Xi Jinping introduced his “One Belt, One Road” plan in 2013, many “Belt and Road Alliances” (or BRAs) have been set up in mainland China in support of the project.
It aims to involve more than 60 countries along the ancient trading routes between China and Europe in a new partnership to build trade and infrastructure. The land route has been dubbed the New Silk Road Economic Belt, and the sea route, the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road.
There are a Belt and Road Media Alliance, a Belt and Road Tourism Alliance, a Belt and Road High School Alliance and so on, each gaining praise from Beijing.
So, Hong Kong’s Belt & Road Steering Committee, announced by Leung on Wednesday, is in fact a latecomer to the BRA game.
‘One Belt, One Road’ – hype or reality? (Dec. 25, 2015)
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