RIP, Peter Bentley: Everlasting wisdom and courage to tell truth about HK unrest

Our beloved friend and former guest to DotDotNew's "Be My Guest" program, Peter Bentley, has recently passed away. We express our deepest condolences and republish our previous interview with him. 

It was right after protesters stormed and ruined HK Legislative Council in July 2019. We accidentally came across a video of a British old man in the blue vest. This foreign face somehow aroused our curiosity because he was among the few foreigners who actually stood against protesters' violence in front of the camera, and he cried.

In our interview, he told us, "before I came to China, I had read a lot of Western News and had a very negative image of China. And then I realized it's just totally biased." If he did not come to China, he probably would never have the opportunity to know the truth about China.

Therefore, he wanted to speak out the truth and advised young people who had a twisted, distorted image of China, but had never been to China or didn't have any mainland Chinese friends, "Go to China! Look and observe by yourself."

During the interview, he mentioned, "I think people like myself have a duty to speak out and trying to get the truth across. I'm not sure how many people see this interview eventually, or how far it would go. But if it makes a little difference, then I'm happy to make that little difference."

Just like Chinese prominent writer Luxun said, "There is no need to wait for the torch. If the torch never comes, I'll be the light." Peter Bentley's wisdom and courage to speak out the truth will be remembered, and will always be an inspiration and enlightenment for many. 

R.I.P.