Amidst global news coverage of student-led demonstrations challenging China’s rule over Hong Kong, Corey Perkins ‘22 issued a proclamation Tuesday on his personal Twitter stating that Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of uninformed takes on the whole Hong Kong thing,” Perkins said. “Please folks, leave this to those of us with actual expertise.” Last fall, Perkins took Chinese 110 for seven weeks before dropping the course.
“You cannot truly understand what’s going on over there if you don’t know the language,” said Perkins, whose Mandarin vocabulary encompasses such words as “big,” “small,” and “dog.”
The assuredness with which Perkins asserts his viewpoints has drawn criticism from many of his peers, including Robert Chan ‘22, Perkins’ first-year roommate. “I don’t think Corey is aware they speak Cantonese in Hong Kong,” Chan said. “Also, for the record, my family is literally from Hong Kong and he has yet to ask my thoughts on any of this.”
Perkins has strong words for his critics. “Hong Kong? I’m going to stop you right there, Rob, because it’s technically called ‘Xiang Gang,’” Perkins said, sending spittle flying as he emphasized the ‘X’ with his tongue.
Chan’s criticisms of Perkins are not merely limited to his erroneous expertise, but also his general cultural ignorance. “I’m not sure how you’ll fit this into your article, but Corey thinks chopsticks are called ‘chinasticks,’” Chan said. “Honestly though, I’d be entertained to hear his thoughts on Taiwan.”
“Taiwan? Taiwan!?!? Don’t even get me started on Taiwan,” Perkins said.
—H. Rubin
