Talk:White Terror

White terror in Hong Kong and general meaning

Political scientist Joseph Cheng is cited in a Guardian article on the reported arrest (and subsequent release) of "several prominent pro-democracy figures" on 30 August 2019: "This is exactly what white terror means to ordinary people," adding that "administration is using all kinds of suppression to create a deterrent effect." Other examples cited in the article are "staff at the Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific, who have been encouraged to inform on their colleagues (secondary WashPost source, unions on "white terror")", one protest organiser "attacked inside a restaurant by two masked men wielding baseball bats and knives", another "attacked by four men wielding rods". The vice-chairman of the pro-democracy Demosistō political party, Isaac Cheng, said this "spreading" of white terror is "intended to suppress the ongoing Hong Kong protests and the people’s freedom of speech". He said he would not be deterred and called the "foul tactics". [1]. A Reuters article on the Cathay Pacific situation defines white terror as: "a common expression to describe anonymous acts that create a climate of fear". Michael Chugani writes in EJ Insight: "In historical terms, white terror means political murders, executions, and jailing without trial as happened in France, Russia, Shanghai, and Taiwan. None of that is happening in Hong Kong. But a different type of white terror has now arrived. It is intended to scare people into giving up their free speech rights." On the methods used, he says "people have now been fired for having expressed their political views, people are being warned they could be fired if they express political views on social media, companies are being forced to fire people who express their political opinions, and the companies themselves are being forced to support the government or face the consequences." In summary, Chugani says: "White terror by any other name is still white terror." [2] See also: 2019 Yuen Long attack, where a mob of masked people, dressed in white T-shirts and armed with iron rods and bamboo sticks, indiscriminately attacked civilians in public places. They injured 45 but none of the suspects had been charged as of August 22 [3]. Finally, the article Tactics and methods surrounding the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests seems related. Wakari07 (talk) 11:00, 30 August 2019 (UTC)

This is not an article though. The most common sense of the word by far, and the sense that every single article that this page redirects to uses, is as a practical antonym to "Red Terror". "Any of various periods of violent repression, especially one led by conservative or reactionary forces against a communist or left-wing regime." China would clearly use this definition in Hong Kong as well. Prinsgezinde (talk) 12:35, 10 October 2019 (UTC)

Primary topic?

I doubt the tag {{dabprimary}}. I don't believe there is a primary topic beyond the dicdef, such as, e.g., in OED. Do you have sufficent sources that discuss "White Terror" as a generic term rather than individual "white terrors"? The second point a meaning to be WP:PRIMARY, you have to demonstrate that its alleged generic meaning is in a prevalent common use.

If the article will be of the kind "White Terror is... First White TError was... Second White terror was...." then I dont see how it is better than a plain disambig page. A dab page has an important advantage of creating a redlink, a sore in the eye demanding to be filled by a link to the actual Wtite Terror in question. And if the term is not widely used generically, then a formal article will be rather a disservice to the readers. --Altenmann >talk 23:02, 3 September 2024 (UTC)