Forced ‘dive’ from Hong Kong University council member triggers online trolling

A Hong Kong University council member is now the subject of ridicule after faking a ludicrous ‘dive’ when 100 student activists stormed a University meeting on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred after the council voted 12-8 to stall the appointment of an administrator who supported last year’s pro-democracy protests.

Council member Lo Chung-mau took a dramatic fall part-way through the meeting, claiming he had been forcibly hit on the knee. Images and videos distributed online show Lo lying on the ground clutching his knee despite there being little or no contact.

The video below demonstrates the incident, though there doesn’t appear to be much of a reaction when he first goes down.

It is little surprise that Hong Kong’s cyber savvies suspect foul play, and Lo Chung-mau has become China’s latest internet memeing trend:

Lo the caution sign. Photo: 樓主個老母 via Golden Forum.

Lo the King of Dance. Photo: 松鼠狗 via Golden Forum.

Netizens might be relishing in the lighter side of the incident, but students of the respected university have declared it an attack on their freedom, labelling the dive a politically motivated stalling of the appointment of former law school dean Johannes Chan, whose consultation with the pro-vice chancellor has been interrupted time and time again.

The University President Peter Mathieson nominated Chan for the post last December but the university’s governing body, including several loyalists to China’s central government, have so far succeeded in blocking his appointment.

The law school’s research record under Chan also has come under attack from a Communist Party-controlled newspaper.

Chan was heard calling the decision “laughable and sad”, while student leaders have threatened to intensify the protests if Tuesday’s decision is not reversed.

Here are some of the internet’s finest Lo Chung-mau farcical falling memes:

Lo the diver. Photo: 村民點諗 via Facebook.

 

好鐘意呢個鋪屎 #西營盤于晏又嚟 #2015男士保健秘笈 #男人嘅福音 #專治香港腳個frd #香港腰 #男人最緊要條腰 #壯腰健腎抱膝低頭衣牙嘭哨唔好行埋嚟之原地翻騰柒周半湯馬斯盤旋轉體落地 #隨時隨地都做得 #我講緊呢個exercise #記住右腳先 #即刻見效 #真係睇見都覺得拋 #拋of腰 #係時候起歌 #找對的腰 #地方對年份錯都懷孕人海中心如捉伊因卻沒法企穩

A photo posted by Hins Cheung (@hinscheung) on Jul 29, 2015 at 1:14am PDT

Where’s Lo? Photo: 中央聖學子 via Facebook.

Lo the occupier. Photo: Chihiro via Golden Forum.

Lo Blow. Photo: 田一大土 via Golden Forum

So it’s a Cristiano Renaldo then. Perhaps Dr Lo needs to become HK Olympic diving coach? https://t.co/doiAMv4J7U

— daaitoulaam (@daaitoulaam) July 29, 2015

Image via Shutterstock.

This article first appeared on Asian Correspondent.