Crusade Against Bad English (1): "as such" does not mean "therefore"

As a former British colony, Hong Kong loves English but is bad at it. This is a fortunate fact I intended to capitalize on from Day 1 I came here. But the prevalent (and often horrendous) misuses of English, written and spoken, truly constitute my daily peeves, insomuch as mainland tourists are so to the locals. Granted, as a speaker of English as a second language, I am no Shakespeare and often prone to lazy grammatical blunders every now and then. Yet blogging about them per se can be educational for myself.

I hereby declare War on Bad English.

Lesson 1: "as such" does not mean "therefore".

The common misuse of the phrase "as such" as a fancy substitute for "therefore" can be found in mainstream newspapers, newsletters of top consulting firms, and suggested answers to professional exams. "Such" is a pronoun that must have an identifiable antecedent. If it doesn't have one, its use is incorrect. As a test, ask yourself “as what?”

Correct:

The matter was left to a group of indecisive ninnies. As such [As indecisive ninnies], they resorted to the toss of a coin.

Incorrect:

Section 8 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO) provides that Hong Kong salaries tax is charged on person in respect of his income arising in or derived from Hong Kong from an employment; office or pension. As such [As what?!], the directors’ fee and employment income received by Roger would be chargeable to salaries tax if it arises in or is derived from Hong Kong, i.e., it has a Hong Kong source.    (Suggested Answer to the 2013 Paper 5 "Advanced Taxation Practice" of the Qualifying Examinations of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong)

More info can be found here and here.