Information for those wishing to write to Lee Cheuk-yan
On International Students Day two years ago, the siege of PolyU (AKA Hong Kong Polytechnic University) began. Like the battles waged on the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus that preceded it, this event (which has been captured on film and documented for posterity in such as the critically acclaimed Inside the Red Brick Wall) has left deep scars in the psyche of many Hong Kongers.
One measure I had of this occured a few months ago one evening when a friend I was walking with in the vicinity of the PolyU campus broke down and started crying at the sight of the red brick walls (that had been stained blue by the blast of water cannons back in November 2019). Especially since he's usually on the stoic side, his reaction was pretty shocking to me. I guess still waters run deep and all that. And what tore further at my heart was when, even as the tears rolled down his cheeks, he expressed his fear that all our efforts (at attempting to make our voice heard and the government listen to us, etc.) had been in vain.
Instinctively, I rushed to assure him that it hadn't all been in vain, that the "war" was not yet over, that things are not yet written in stone. When he looked at me sceptically, I pointed out that these kind of things take time and, also, that a whole bunch of other people had not yet given up.
That evening I didn't cite those seeking vindication for the June 4th, 1989, massacre were still determined to do so some 32 years on -- even if it means, in some cases, going to jail for their beliefs. But, yeah, I was thinking of them as exemplars, along with Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years of his life in prison (including on Robben Island) but did eventually emerge from it not only as a free man but also one who would see his dream and goal of ending apartheid realized.
On the subject of those determined to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre and honor its victims, five key members of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China appeared in court today at a trial involving their involvement in last year’s banned June 4th vigil. Electing to plead guilty to the charges, today was their opportunity to have mitigation speeches heard.
While Richard Choi, Leung Yiu-ching, Simon Leung and Wu Chi-wai opted to have their lawyer deliver the pleas, former Hong Kong Alliance chair Lee Cheuk-yan dismissed his legal representative ahead of the court session and gave his own submission. The following are excerpts from his emotional speech (and is very much worth reading in full):
To begin, I want to thank the people of Hong Kong who kept the promise of 1989, all 31 years ago. In the face of suppression, they persisted, honouring the memory of the June Fourth Massacre in Victoria Park with their candlelight. Your Honour, the people of Hong Kong who took part needed no person or organisation to incite them. If there was a provocateur, it is the regime that fired at its own people.
For 31 years, our unyielding memory and unrelenting conscience drove us to keep the promise, persisted in honouring their memory, demand truth and accountability, and carry on the pursuit of freedom and democracy of the Chinese people...Influenced by localist ideas, some question the principles of the Hong Kong Alliance, but we all recognise the necessity to uncover the truth of and demand accountability for the June Fourth Massacre. The participation of the youth explains why the attendance of the vigil rose to the hundred thousand in the past decade...For 30 odd years, the candlelight of the June Fourth vigil symbolised the practice of peaceful, non-violent resistance. Why should the Police prohibit the assembly and prosecute its participants? We are all followers of Gandhi’s idea of non-violent struggle, hoping to bring democratic reforms to Hong Kong. Now that I am imprisoned as Gandhi was, I will learn to be as fearless as Gandhi was...Despite setbacks, we are steadfast in our belief that the universal values of freedom, the rule of law, human rights and democracy that we have been struggling for will one day take root in Hong Kong and China. And on that day, we will be able to console the souls who came before us. (My emphasis)
2 comments:
Do you think we will every have true human rights in world.
Coffee is on and stay safe
Hi peppylady --
For the whole world at the same time? Sadly, no. But we should still have it as a dream and try to work towards it. Not doing so will just make things worse, I feel.
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