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![]() Mothers' day: the mothers gather for their demonstration. A Peninsula spokesman said the hotel had to be sensitive to guests with different cultural beliefs. Picture by Dickson Lee
CERI WILLIAMS
The demonstration was held after one of the women claimed she had been asked by a member of the hotel's staff to use a bathroom to feed her baby. Sueli Rocha said a security woman had asked her to stop breast-feeding in public and the hotel manager said she could use the bathroom for more privacy. The Peninsula denied it "actively" discouraged breast-feeding in public but said it must be sensitive to guests with different cultural beliefs. Staff did not approach the 18 mothers yesterday. Candy Galarza, who organised the protest, said: "Breast-feeding is perfectly natural and it's the best thing for our children." Fellow protester Maggie Yu Yuen-ling said she had once been told to stop breast-feeding in public when she was staying in a health centre. "I think one of the reasons why people do not like it is because they are embarrassed, but I do not think it is bad," she said. And Chua Beng-wan said: "It is OK to have pornographic magazines on display in shops, yet people are offended by breast-feeding." The Peninsula said it appreciated that breast-feeding was the best nutrition for babies and they could offer a room if women wanted privacy "for this natural function". "But as an international hotel hosting guests of many different cultures and beliefs - some more and less conservative than others - we have to take the feelings of all our guests into account at all times," a spokesman said. "If a lady wishes to breast-feed in public we are happy to go along with her wishes but would request her co-operation to ensure this is done as discreetly as possible." The Peninsula said it could offer a "discreet" room for mothers if they wanted "to avoid the possibility of upsetting the feelings and sensibilities of guests sitting in the vicinity".
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![]() I think one of the reasons why people do not like it is because they are embarrassed, but I do not think it is bad
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