MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, many Members said today that many netizens supported violence because they believed problems could not be resolved by peaceful or rational means. I strongly oppose such fallacious statements. In my opinion, the objective of any act that seeks to embellish, rationalize or justify violence is simply to poison young people and further push them off the cliff, so as to achieve the underlying goal of advocates of such acts, probably for the sake of ballots or accomplishing their political missions. Young people can easily be instigated because they are charged with passion. This is why we have to all the more care for, look after and cherish them and lead them back to the right track, instead of embellishing violence which would push them deeper and deeper into trouble.
I oppose any form of violence since problems cannot be resolved by resort to violence. Who in the world can win by recourse to violence? The road of peace and rationality may be very long, but victory can be achieved in the end. Violence will only continue to escalate and, consequently, more people will be victimized once violence is employed. Victims of the incident that occurred on the first day of the Lunar New Year are probably supporters, members of the public, journalists and police officers, who share a common characteristic ― they are Hongkongers as well as Chinese people.
While we should approve of the young people’s passion for society, their way of expression has unfortunately gone too far, thereby constituting a criminal act. Some young people only see one side of the social phenomenon, probably for various reasons. For instance, they might only read certain online media or told by their teachers since they were small a lopsided view of events. Meanwhile, they do not pay attention to the causes of the underlying social problems and merely think that society, the Government and their family members do not offer them any help. As a result, they will be easily incited by external stimuli and act in an impulsive manner very easily. I believe had it occurred to them during the incident that many people might get hurt or they would probably face an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, thereby dealing a blow to their own future and, what is more, exerting pressure on their family members, the number of participants might have been smaller, and they would not have acted in such an extreme manner.
The Government must pay attention to this incident and get a clear picture of its entire process. I certainly think that these participants should be punished, but the focus should be placed on persuasion and improving communication in a down-to-earth and pragmatic manner, with a view to reducing misunderstandings among young people. Not only is this parliamentary assembly full of fallacious arguments, but I also find growing prevalence of such arguments in recent years. The occurrence of such a large number of incidents of injustice in society precisely can be attributed to the existence of so many fallacious views in society. Is the Government really so terrible? It certainly has room for improvement, but quite a number of high- and middle-ranking officials I know are hardworking and whole-heartedly doing what they consider ought to be done for Hong Kong.
The day-and-night condemnations by Members of the Government will actually give young people the wrong impression that it is a lawless society, though we know very well that Hong Kong is so efficient that it is better than many other places in the world in terms of many services and welfare policies. What good will it do to Hong Kong if Members enjoy banging their heads against the walls in constant dismay because they think Hong Kong is terrible and feel disheartened all the time?
Should Members continue to incite young people with these fallacious views, thereby driving the latter to desperation, Members should bear the greatest political responsibility and be held responsible for the life of the young people! These Members should be regarded as the greatest sinners in Hong Kong! The Government must do a proper job of communication in order to reduce misunderstandings among young people and prevent them from adopting a one-way mindset of thinking all the time that the Government and society are doing a disservice to them. I hope young people can understand that society, the Government and many people care about them, and these people, albeit under various kinds of pressure, are working for them and contributing to the people of Hong Kong in silence.
Meanwhile, I think the Government should learn a lesson. Once violence is triggered, it will persist and become a norm in Hong Kong. Hence, the Government should do a proper job of security and prevention in areas where there are heavy flows of people, including Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, and make proper preparations against charges by, for instance, crowd dispersion, police deployments for fireworks and parade shifts, and so on. What is more, public facilities should be secured properly to prevent them from being used as makeshift offensive tools.
The view held by quite a number of Members that politics should be blamed entirely for the occurrence of conflicts and confrontations in society today will only simplify the complicated issues. In fact, universal suffrage, so to speak, is practicised in many places around the world, but the problems faced by these places are much more numerous than those faced by Hong Kong. Compared with Hong Kong, not only are their unemployment rates among young people higher, but they are facing even more acute problems of unemployment among young people, poverty, wealth gap and the economy. Their unemployment rates are higher, too. How can these Members explain this phenomenon?
Since the constitutional reform package has been vetoed and the problem with our political system will not be resolved in the near future, what should we do now? Is it true that we can only feel disheartened, bang our heads against the walls, or urge young people to rise and participate in riots? Or should the truth and problems be revealed before the eyes of young people to let them know that the issues involved are not as simple as they imagine, and the solutions are not confined to those they often come up with after being brainwashed.
In my opinion, the Government should set up a dedicated team to follow up the problems facing young people in relation to studies, employment, family and home ownership. If the Government is willing to persistently make earnest and vigorous efforts in looking after the interests of young people and working for them, I believe young people will definitely feel its sincerity. Although achievement might not come out of many an initiative, young people must be made to see that it has indeed taken their interests into account and worked for them. If it is reluctant to even take this step to make young people realize that it cares about them the most, this knot will never be untied.
What is more, I believe the problems encountered by young people cannot be resolved by political struggles. Hence, they should understand the true causes of social problems, such as the fact that Hong Kong’s economic development is reaching maturity. The economic development in overseas places also reached maturity a long time ago, right? Should politics be blamed for all the problems encountered by young people, the issue will only be simplified, and hence young people will miss the point. I personally have the most profound feeling because I was precisely an example of a poor man climbing up the ladder. Certainly, many people will say that I can now make a most rhetorical remark because Hong Kong enjoyed economic growth and there was an emigration tide back then. What would I do if I could turn the clock back to three or four decades ago and encountered an even more difficult environment? Would I give up or make extra efforts?
Although Hong Kong’s present environment is even more difficult than before, there are still a lot of opportunities. Many employers have told me they cannot find young people who are willing to think harder, care for the interests of their companies, and refrain from behaving in a calculating manner. They said that such young people, if found, would definitely be treasured and offered constant promotion opportunities. In fact, many employers have told me that such young people are sought after by all industries and trades. Nonetheless, despite the large number of young people, there are few young people of high calibre. A relatively large number of young people only hope to get rich instantly. I hope young people can understand that, so long as they are prepared to make earnest and vigourous efforts and contribute for their own future, I believe they will definitely find a way out. Young people must cherish this belief.
Lastly, I would like to offer young people a piece of advice. Should they have a piece of brick in their hands next time, I hope they can give some thoughts to their act of hurling bricks ― their lives as well as the lives of their family members might be affected or even changed. Most importantly, they might even face a 10-year imprisonment term. Since bricks have no eyes, they might hit members of the public, police officers or journalists, thereby causing casualties. Should that really happen, are young people doing justice to these people? Should young people treat these people, who also have parents and siblings, in this manner? I hope young people can consider this seriously and refrain from being misled by the fallacious views advanced by newspapers, magazines or Members into believing that they are doing acts of justice. These acts are absolutely wrong. I hope these young people can turn back before it is too late, and work hard for their own future. Instead of relying on the Government or political parties, they should rely on their own hands and brains to find a true way out. I believe I am truly making these remarks for the good of young people.
I so submit.