Printed on the letters page of The Standard 21.5.09
What an offensive article by Mary Ma (“Ripe for new political bananas,” The Standard, May 15). Let bygones be bygones? Tell that to the Tiananmen Mothers or the thousands of Hongkoners who are here because they had fled the regime over the border. No-one has received justice for the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal oppression in 1989.
It is the same party, made up of some of the same people that instigated the massacre – what is to say it couldn’t happen again? Certainly, they have never admitted responsibility or apologised. Being the only place in China where self-expression is tolerated, we are morally obligated to ensure the crackdown is never forgotten, and is taught properly in schools.
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On March 10th, 2009, I joined Christina Chan and representatives from Students For a Free Tibet at the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong to protest the continued occupation of Tibet. The following photos are from AP and the local press…
On January 11th, 2009, I joined Deena Guzder at the Hong Kong demonstration against Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.
Here is a news story from the local Standard.
Below is the speech I gave at the Amnesty International demonstration a week later…
Israel’s own Intelligence and Terrorism Centre has admitted that Hamas itself did not fire any rockets during the ceasefire last year. Since 2005, rockets launched from Gaza have killed 12 Israelis in total. Despite these facts, Israel itself broke the ceasefire and embarked upon a massive, disproportionate attack on the occupied territory killing over 1,200 Palestinians – a third, children and young people.
Israel’s repeated bombing of UN schools, its bombing of a UN refugee camp, its use of white phosphorous and other illegal weapons, the 1-ton bomb dropped on a building to kill one man (wiping out all his family), its preventing the Red Cross from reaching starving children for 4 days are all proof that the Israel’s pledge to avoid civilian casualties is a fiction.
We approached a lawyer shortly after our detention at a peaceful Tibet protest during the HK Olympic Torch Relay in May 2008. Christina Chan and I wanted to make a statement about civil liberties in Hong Kong and defend free speech.
The 1997 Basic Law states that HK police must facilitate protest and all residents have the right to do so. We hoped the case would highlight the drip-drip erosion of freedoms in the territory by Beijing, but I had to drop out due to prohibative legal aid costs. Christina’s means test was lower so she pressed on with the judicial review.
The videos clearly show heavy-handed policing. If the judge admits others present were breaking the law, then police were surely obliged to control/arrest them, rather than removing the victim. Instead, moments before the torch and world’s media passed by, Chan found herself bundled into a van.
Coverage from various local outlets below…
On Buy Nothing Day, 2008, I joined Christian Chan to distribute anti-consumerism flyers amongst shoppers in Times Square. The leaflets encouraged people to question consumerism and its environmental, psychological and social effects.
As Vice President Xi Jinping visited the territory, I joined Christina Chan in protesting against human rights abuses near a venue in which he was hosting a feast.
This coverage is from The Standard.
On July 1st, 2008, I joined thousands of other Hong Kongers in demanding democracy for the territory at the annual demonstration.
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In June 2008, I attended the annual candlelit vigil to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. I also joined Christina Chan in a protest at the China Liaison Office, where we presented a copy of theUN Declaration of Human Rights.
The following coverage is from the Epoch Times and local broadsheet the Ming Pao.
In the run up to the start of the Olympics, I joined Christian Chan in raising awareness of the continued human rights abuses in the mainland…
– Ming Pao and South China Morning Post
– Apple Daily
