Li Dongguozan police did not use force to counterattack in consecutive clashes against the amendment bill: other countries must have considerable casualties

Hong Kong’s political situation has undergone tremendous changes in recent years. It has experienced the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and the anti-amendment protests and conflicts in 2019. Former Secretary for Security and current Legislative Council, Lai Tung-kwok, gave a lecture at the Book Fair today (25th), discussing the police’s response during the conflict. deploy.

He pointed to the front line "to give a thumbs up", as there were no casualties in the 79 days of demonstrations, especially in the siege of PolyU in 2019, even if the chaos was like a "battlefield" and the police almost turned into "burning pigs" The police did not use force to fight back, but only used "tactics" to break up the demonstrators. "In other countries, there must be considerable casualties."

He also pointed out that many mainland officials were too devoted to work and died suddenly, and they had the spirit of serving the people. , "2047 is not a deadline."

Legislative Council member Lai Tung Kwok said that the police did not use force to fight back against the protests, but only used "tactics" to break up the demonstrators. "In other countries, there must be considerable casualties." (Photo by Chen Shuxia)

Lai Tung-kwok attended a lecture at the Wanchai Convention and Exhibition today, and had a conversation with Lo Wing-hung, a veteran media person and the founder of the online media "Bus News", about the challenges and opportunities of Hong Kong's return to China 25 years ago.

The demonstrations in 2019 affected the political landscape of Hong Kong. Looking back, Lai Tung-kuo pointed out that he was in a heavy heart at the time. "It wasn't a shock, but it was very important to see the rule of law and order in Hong Kong being destroyed." Lai Tung-kwok, who lives in Tai Po, recalled, Foreshadowing the traffic congestion on the morning of the demonstration at CUHK, he offered to pick up his daughter-in-law for a trip. Unexpectedly, the CUHK No. 2 bridge was blocked, so seeing the "miracle", "every driver in Tolo Harbor went the wrong way."

He also pointed out that the 2019 demonstrations were years in the making and were related to the 2014 occupation.

When Lai Tung Kwok was the Secretary of the Security Bureau, he dealt with the Occupy Central case. He did not name a scholar who launched "Occupy Central" on the Internet in the name of "love and peace". When there are many participants, it will be difficult to be peaceful and rational. As a result, the chaos of the year was caused. In the end, due to the dissatisfaction of the people, the event ended after 79 days.

In the PolyU incident, a sharp-armed armored vehicle was hit with a petrol bomb, and it caught fire for a while.

(File photo/Photo by Li Zetong)

He went on to say that it was necessary to "give a thumbs up" to the front-line police officers at the time. Except for police officers who died of overwork, there was no one casualty in the society; A police armored vehicle was thrown into flames by petrol bombs. "I was watching the live broadcast, and I was screaming. I was worried that all the police officers would turn into pigs, and the cars would be very good." He continued, although PolyU was like a "battlefield" at the time, but The police did not fight back with weapons, but only used tactics to break up the demonstrators. "In other countries, there must be considerable casualties."

Li Dongguo also said that freedom is precious, but the law has drawn its boundaries. If "stepping over the boundary" destroys the freedom of others or "excessive exposure to the fire", "if there is no law enforcement, everyone can imagine that it will become a bit scary."

The two also talked about the international situation and the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Lu Yongxiong believed that today's international chaos stemmed from the 2013 Ukrainian demonstrations, describing its impact as a "butterfly effect" that extended to food and energy crises; Li Dongguo agreed, saying, Although everything in Hong Kong has become more expensive and the price of gasoline has continued to rise, we are fortunate that Hong Kong has the support of the motherland, the prices of food and supplies are still "OK", and the inflation rate has remained stable. He also compared the situation in Europe, pointing out that some middle-class Germans also had to wait in line to receive relief. At that time, "Killing eight hundred enemies, destroying two thousand, will only reap the consequences."

On November 17, the police repeatedly fired water cannons to disperse protesters at Chatham Road South outside PolyU.

(File photo/Photo by Zheng Zifeng)

He also said that the country has been working hard in the past, and the mainland news even reported the sudden death of mainland officials from time to time. Li Dongguo pointed out that they are party members and have the spirit of serving the people. The country has achieved many miracles such as national poverty alleviation and desertification prevention.

Lai Tung-kwok said that Hong Kong people should also be grateful that they can maintain the original way of life and the original capitalist system, and with the support of the state, "2047 is not a deadline."

Ye Liu Shuyi, the guild's convener and chairman of the New Democracy Party, attended the lecture to support the party members. Some audience members pointed out that when the other party was the then Secretary of the Security Bureau, he failed to successfully promote the legislation of Article 23, so the central government needs to take action today. Li Dongguo replied that Ye Lau Suk-yee and Leung Oi-sze, the Secretary for Justice, took the lead at that time, but since the handover, Hong Kong's understanding of the Basic Law has been superficial, and the country's definition has been poorly understood. One has stated that Hong Kong is an inseparable part of the Chinese nation, and Hong Kong people did not know about national security at the time, so they resisted the legislation.

He stressed that safety is the country's top priority. If national security is not ensured, it will be difficult to ensure the safety of the people. Hong Kong is learning from practice.

Some people asked whether Hong Kong can protect its own advantages and immigration issues in the future. Lai Tung-kwok pointed out that Hong Kong's prosperity depends on the success of each transformation. As long as we make good use of our strengths to develop industries, "all roads lead to Rome."

He also believes that immigration is not entirely a "bad thing", because Hong Kong is a "big magnet" for attracting talents. Settled in Hong Kong to teach.

Nie Dequan's remarks before leaving office: The original intention of serving Hong Kong remains unchanged. Lai Tung-kwok suggested to switch to the election of the Legislative Council. Lai Tung-kwok said he respected Chen Rijun and Guan Hao-ming: prayed for him. "Chen Chao" is a misinformation that Shi Ronghuai recruited 11 people in the same car and missed the two sessions and quarantined 14+7, including Li Dongguo and Chen Xiaofeng