"Da Siu Yan" or "hit small people" or "curse". Hong Kong leader CY Leung next to a cut-out of the character for "small".
Protesters organized by pro-democracy group People Power march to the Hong Kong government 's headquarters in Tamar, Admiralty on March 3, 2013. They are protesting about the February 27 budget which they claim did little to alleviate the plight of the poor and less well-off. Here a cut-out of Hong Kong's leader -- or Chief Executive -- CY Leung is placed next to a cut-out of the Chinese character for "small". In front are a number of plastic stools, slippers and just in the foreground paper tigers. The character for "small" -- "siu" in Cantonese -- was chosen because it is part of the phrase "Da siu yan", literally "Hit small people" or "Hit petty-minded people" which means "to curse". In Hong Kong, you can pay old women to curse your enemies at a place known locally as "Ngor Geng Kiu" or "Goose Neck Bridge" which is at the junction of Canal Road West and Hennessy Road. Here the women sit on small stools and hit a small piece of paper with the enemy's name written on it with a plastic shoe whilst cursing the enemy as a "paper tiger" -- someone who appears threatening but who will fold when challenged.
Size: 3456px × 5184px
Location: Outside Hong Kong government HQ at Tamar, Admiralty, Hong Kong, China
Photo credit: © Robert SC Kemp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: asia, budget, cardboard, chief, china, cut, cy, democracy, demonstration, executive, gap, government, hong, kong, leung, march, people, politics, poverty, power, protest, small, wealth
