MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, the social upheaval generated by disturbances arising from the proposed legislative amendments continues. The situation which began in June as peaceful demonstrations has subsequently turned into series of violent clashes as we see at present. The behaviour of the rioters is getting increasingly appalling, reaching the point of being unprincipled. If we can still remember, at the beginning, there were demonstrations and road blockages only, followed by the subsequent appearance of a large crowd of black-clad people and masked rioters who smashed everything into pieces recklessly, from the Legislative Council Complex to MTR stations and traffic lights. They further enforced vigilante attacks on people who held dissent political views or took photos at the scenes. Moreover, they vandalize, wreck, and set fire on target shops in the streets incessantly; and, as their activities are getting increasingly outrageous, they frequently use petrol bombs and all sorts of lethal offensive weapons. Hong Kong looks as if an anarchist state. According to Police's statistics, more than 2 000 cases of criminal damage and arson have been recorded from June to September. And now I guess there should be more than 4 000 or even 5 000 cases in total.

 

President, the riots have impacted on Hong Kong's economy, business environment and consumption sentiments. We can see the impact has gradually surfaced. Various events have been called off or postponed one after another,for instance the National Day Fireworks display, the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, the Hong Kong Cyclothon, the Hong Kong Tennis Open, and the Hong Kong ePrix. Some exhibitions have also changed venues to Singapore. Apart from these, tourists are now reluctant to visit Hong Kong. The number of inbound visitor arrivals in August and September dropped more than 30%. As far as I know, the fall in October and November even exceeded 40%. As for hotel occupancy rate, it averaged at 90% in the past, but now it stands at just 30% or so for those with lower business volumes and at a mere 60% to 70% for those which fare better, showing the entire tourism industry has been seriously affected. The depression in tourism impinges upon other industries, including retail which has suffered double-digit fall in sales volume for several consecutive months, and restaurants which have undergone a wave of closures with more than 300 of them folded. The latest unemployment rate as announced by the Government has risen from 2.9% to 3.1%. What is most unfortunate is that we see no future, and have no idea about when this disturbance will end. Our industry hopes that this disturbance will die down soon so that earnings from the peak seasons of Christmas and Chinese New Year can compensate the loss to a certain extent. If trouble arises at these two peak seasons, it is hard to tell if a wave of closure will hit travel agencies after the Chinese New Year.

 

The rioters and their supporters are not going to call it quits in view of this situation. I believe it will only get worse. They recently initiated a general strike on three fronts by the labour, business and education sectors. They have resorted to all sorts of extreme measures so as to impede wage-earners' usual journeys to work. They hurled petrol bombs into railways, MTR train compartments and major trunk roads, set fire on toll booths and the administration building at the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom, and forcibly occupied The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They also set up barricades to obstruct major trunk roads and major means of transport, resulting in a paralysis of major trunk roads throughout Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, as well as the provision of limited services by the railway system. Their aim was to severely undermine Hong Kong's economy and transport system. Their actions have disturbed many people who want to attend work and class as usual, apart from fettering our freedom to commute.

 

In doing so, one of the objectives of the rioters is to undermine the credibility of the Government, so that the people will lose trust in the Government. The opposition can even blame the Government for the riots,portray the construction camp or the pro-establishment camp as the royalists, with a view to provoking people's dislike against the pro-establishment camp and hence their reluctance to vote for them. Their eventual goal is to take control of the District Councils, Legislative Council, Election Committee, and even the Chief Executive election through various election games. This is the main reason for the opposition to refuse to sever ties with the rioters thus far.

 

Given the connivance of the opposition, and especially the support from those with purported social or academic standing or even the opposition Members, coupled with foreign intervention, Hong Kong has fully entered a black terror period in which people are living in fear every day. Hong Kong used to be the safest city in the world, tourists and local people had no fears when walking down the street or engaging in outdoor consumer activities at midnight, safety was not an issue to them even when means of transport were out of reach, and they would not worry about the availability of goods when they went shopping. However, nowadays local people and visiting tourists often meet great inconvenience as transportation may break down anytime. People wanting to use public transports cannot tell when the vehicle will come or when a road will be blocked. A journey which used to take only an hour may now take two to three hours. Many people insist going to work despite all the trouble, as their only source of income is from their work. They live from hand to mouth and hence they must keep their rice bowls intact. Yet, this group of rioters or the opposition turn a blind eye to these wage earners, they pursue their own personal goals at the expense of other people's interests.

 

Take the blockage at the Tolo Highway and the service suspension of the East Rail Line the other day as an example, we saw a lot of cars stopping midway at the Tolo Highway. Some of them could not go home or down town after waiting for 12 hours …

 

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr YIU Si-wing, you have talked a lot about other issues. Please come back to the question under debate.

 

MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): President, I only want to discuss fair election. At the end of the day, they make all the trouble just for the sake of generating unfairness. This is their tactic. I have to expound the intentions behind these problems and lay bare their conspiracy. On top of messing up the entire city and creating traffic jams, they did not spare the elevators at MTR stations and the traffic lights. Just imagine, how can elderly persons or those with disabilities make a journey under such circumstances? They can only stay home when elevators are unavailable. And why do these people create such situations? For the sake of generating social chaos and provoking social discontent. What is more, people on the street may be assaulted if they speak a bit more loudly, say something not to the liking of the rioters or take pictures. Hence, we all worry if we will be told off or beaten up if we speak too loudly. Black terror has thus emerged practically everywhere throughout the entire territory. Earlier, an elderly person at Ma On Shan chased after some people and scolded them, upon seeing something unacceptable to him. He was then set ablaze. Does it mean that Hong Kong has met its downfall?

 

Why did the above mentioned example happen? It is evident that the opposition aims at creating panic, as they want people neither to speak the truth nor to vote. Here is a simple example. A friend of mine told me that he saw on the street a Member from the pro-establishment camp―or the construction camp―handing out leaflets which no one dared to take. He himself greatly supports the pro-establishment camp but when he went up to take the leaflet, he had to keep a watchful eye on his surroundings, fearing that someone might take his picture and doxx him. How can fair competition be possible when an average person has so much to fear when taking a leaflet?

 

There is a restaurant in my neighbourhood whose name is identical with a so-called "blue ribbon" eatery. The restaurant owner, in a bid to clarify its identity, posted a notice to deny being the "blue ribbon" eatery in question, alongside a poster from the opposition camp. Why did he shy from pinning up a poster from the pro-establishment camp? He did so for fear that he might be harassed and boycotted. So how can there be fair competition? Once I saw a District Council candidate delivering leaflets on a street. He was blasted verbally once he showed his face. Later I saw the same scene twice or thrice and it was again that particular person who blasted him. What can he do then? He said he had to hand out the leaflets on the streets very early in the morning so as to avoid that person. Alternatively, he has to find a time to hand out the leaflets quietly when that person was not around. He tackled the problem this way but is this reasonable? Where on earth is fair competition then? Furthermore, we have learnt from a lot of news reports that people threw fire bombs to pro-establishment District Council members intentionally or intimidated non-partisan members. Having seen these, would you dare to assure a candidate of your unwavering support? No one will dare to do so, no one will say this, not even if he or she wants to support the candidate. We are not even sure if we dare to vote on that day.

 

President, it is just three days away from the District Council election day. What is the common concern of the people? Their concern is whether the Government can safeguard their right to a fair and safe election environment. I was planning to invite friends to dinner on the polling day. A friend asked about the safety on that day and I reassured him no problem would arise. Contrary to what I said, I was indeed unsure when he questioned my confidence. Do I dare to invite a group of friends to dinner on the polling day on the 24th? I am not sure. But as a Member of this Council, I certainly have to assert myself and cannot say otherwise. But then, how do people see this, even if I am genuinely confident?

 

In view of this, I consider it mandatory for the Government to create for the people a normal election environment these few days, maintain law and order in the territory, and pay special attention to online comments and notify the people of possible risks in a timely manner. The Government should draw up contingency measures promptly, so that people will find the polling day safe and fair. If during these few days (including the polling day), incidents of violent destruction happen, the Government should judge if the election on the polling day will likely to be harassed, disrupted, undermined or seriously affected by riot or open violence or any danger to public health or safety, under section 38 of the District Councils Ordinance. If such scenarios happen, the Government must indeed consider postponing the election.

 

Secretary NIP is now present. He once said violent protesters held the keys to the conduct of the election as scheduled. But I find this comment inappropriate. He should not have put the protesters on such a pedestal. The Government should be responsible for preparing this election properly, coordinating among the departments concerned and performing its duty to the fullest. No matter whether it is the Fire Services Department, Home Affairs Department or the Registration and Electoral Office, it is duty-bound to make assessments, work in cooperation with the other departments, and relay to the people its concerns and problems, so that individual departments can play their roles appropriately on the polling day. For instance, while the Police is responsible for patrolling, various other departments should coordinate among themselves to create a safe and fair election environment, under which more than 4 million electors can vote without fear.

 

To me, the Government should be confident and determined in safeguarding the smooth conduct of the District Council Election. Similarly, I also hope various political parties and holders of different political views in the community will say no to violence in an open and unequivocal manner, to help restore peace in society. It is only under such circumstances that we will be able to cast our votes in a peaceful and quiet environment, and be confident of electing our preferred candidates, like what we used to do in the past.

 

President, I so submit.