killing a chicken to scare the monkeys 殺雞儆猴

killing a chicken to scare the monkeys
繁：殺雞儆猴
简：杀鸡儆猴

戴耀廷今早出席電台節目時指，批評者憑他言論中的其中幾句去演繹，很容易會斷章取義。他又認為是「殺雞儆猴」，港澳辦和中聯辦先後譴責其言論，目的是希望港大辭退他。

戴耀廷：連串譴責是「殺雞儆猴」重申不贊成港獨（2018年4月2日）。明報，取自 https://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20180402/s00001/1522632545701

Tai hit back on a radio show, citing an old Chinese idiom as he accused authorities of turning him into a chicken that is killed to scare the monkeys in their efforts to intimidate others from exploring if breaking away from China could be an option for Hong Kong.

Can Benny Tai be prosecuted for independence remarks under Hong Kong law? No, experts say. (2018, April 2). South China Morning Post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2139884/beijing-making-example-out-me-curb-freedom-speech-hong-kong