MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, according to some people, the fall of Hong Kong started with the Legislative Council. I remember vividly that when Members threw a banana back then, a very senior Member of the pro-democracy camp expressed to me that the Legislative Council was a solemn venue for the enactment of legislation, and young people would definitely follow suit when rules were not observed here in this Council. It would be easy to cause a bad influence on young people, but leading them back to the right track is an extremely difficult task.
As a matter of fact, during the Sixth Legislative Council, numerous tricks have come up incessantly to cause disruption to, create disturbances in and delay operation of this Council, and the situation has kept deteriorating. Meanwhile, with a plan to deliberately incite the public, more and more people in the community have considered the use of violence acceptable, and some have even advocated that violence could be used to solve problems. There have also been plans to systematically destroy the core values of Hong Kong people in being law-abiding and inclusive, claiming that people have been forced by the Government to use violence, thus rationalizing the use of violence. Such fallacies which have lowered the quality of minds of some Hong Kong people have indeed affected the mentality of one or two generations of Hong Kong people, and they have therefore developed an overly radical mindset. Some people nowadays seldom take facts and justifications into consideration when making judgments, and they tend to only use a person’s political stance determine whether the person is a friend or an enemy. It is believed that some Hong Kong people will be under the influence of such an mentality of treating others either as a friend or as a foe for a considerable period of time, and only with prolonged treatment and rectification will there be hope for their recovery.
With regard to the “black-clad violence” incidents, the participation of young people is after all the most regrettable and heart-rending part for me. Young people are often enthusiastic and passionate, but they lack practical social experience, especially secondary students of younger age. They will be very easily attracted by beautified and romanticized slogans, and then be used for committing illegal acts. During the riots in question, the masterminds behind the “black-clad violence” have exactly made use of such characteristics of young people to instigate them to participate in the riots. Some young people, on hearing perhaps just some specious slogans, might have regarded them as gospel truth and taken to the street to commit illegal acts. It is indeed heart-rending to see that some young people have been sacrificed by the masterminds behind the “black-clad violence” for their own political interests.
It should be noted that apart from the need to bear criminal liability, the future of those young people arrested would also be doomed, and they would be made to suffer for life. Even if some of them were fortunate enough not to be arrested, they would inevitably be affected by adverse psychological effects after such traumatic experience, and they would possibly be made to suffer for life too as some of them might suffer psychic trauma that could never be healed, while some might develop an anti-social personality. Moreover, when a young person has been arrested, his/her whole family will be affected, and all of them may then have to live under the gloom of worry. I think other members of the community should adopt an understanding attitude towards these young people, and the Government should also assist them or lead them out of the gloom, so that they would get back on the right track in life.
Some friends or relatives around us may have chosen to emigrate to places which are completely new to them, and they have to adapt to a new environment and may lose their networks of personal connections they have established in Hong Kong. It is possible that some of them have misunderstandings about the Hong Kong National Security Law, and thus decide to leave Hong Kong so that their life will not be affected, but this is actually a fallacy. There will be no problem as long as we keep on leading a law-abiding and normal life. In fact, the Hong Kong National Security Law has enabled our society to rebound after hitting rock bottom, so that we may enjoy a stable life once again. I hope people can better understand the national situation and broaden their horizons. As for young people who stay in Hong Kong, I hope they will seize the opportunity, leverage the advantage of having the backing from the country, and endeavour to pursue career development in not only Hong Kong but also the Greater Bay Area, so as to improve their livelihood.
Being the Chairman of the Finance Committee (“FC”), the work of FC is the most important part of my duties here in this Council. In this connection, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all fellow Members, including those present here and many others who are now in our offices upstairs. During the most difficult times for FC when meetings had to be held continuously for a prolonged period of time, fellow Members had given me their unfailing support and not a single word of complain had ever been heard. I wish to extend my special thanks to Mr WONG Ting-kwong, who was always there in his seat when there were only a few Members left in the meeting room, and sometimes when we were about to vote on an item, he was even reminded to help and call other Members back to the meeting room for me. Given that the meeting time was indeed too lengthy, Members’ absence then was absolutely understandable, but the perseverance of Mr WONG Ting-kwong is sincerely appreciated. I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Legal Adviser and the Secretariat staff for providing their services in a professional and politically neutral manner.
Finally, let me convey a message to Legislative Council Members in the new term as follows: In the past 20 years or so, the governance of the Hong Kong Government has all along been impeded by the opposition camp, and even with the strong support from the country, local economy has made no progress, while our society is plagued with problems. Since much time has already been wasted, we should all roll up our sleeves now to work together for Hong Kong, and assist the Government in resolving the deep-seated conflicts in society.
With the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the measures to improve our electoral system, we can really rest assured that the dark days in 2019 will not return. I hope the worst has passed for Hong Kong, and just like the rebirth of a phoenix from the ashes, it will be revitalized.
Thank you, President.