Kenny G kowtows to Beijing

This post, and what followed, stirred an enormous controversy.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman "reminded" the artist: "Kenny G's musical works are widely popular in China, but China's position on the illegal Occupy Central activities in Hong Kong is very clear ...We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support the Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form."

After that, the artist panicked and backtracked, posting the following Twitter message:

He also posted to his Facebook page saying he“was not trying to defy government orders” not to visit, but after being inundated with mostly hostile comments, the entire threads about his visit to Admiralty "Occupy" site have been deleted.

He was also reported to have said to a protester:
“As Americans we take democracy for granted … You guys hang in there. Hope you guys win in the end”, but he denied it.

We can all surmise what is going on in his head. Kenny's actions are in stark contrast to those of Denise Ho, Raymond Wong, Chapman To, and others, who have repeatedly and vocally supported the student protests staring at the obvious risk to their careers on the mainland.

Some people tell me "G" stands for "Gorelick". I think maybe it stands for "Gutless".



See also:
* Dan Levin (22 October 2014). "Beijing Unsoothed by a Kenny G Visit", The New York Times.
* James Griffiths (23 October 2014). "I don't support Hong Kong's Occupy protest, says Kenny G after stern words from Beijing"