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Date Posted: 05:08:02 07/06/03 Sun
Author: anti article 23 and anti tung
Subject: An Open Letter to Wen and Tung

Dear Premier Wen and Mr. Tung,

More than half a million people marched from Victoria Park to the SAR Government Headquarters in Central to demonstrate and voice our request for a revision of the proposed Basic Law Article 23, the resignation of Mr Tung Chee-hwa, and a general election for the SAR Chief Executive. We sincerely hope that you will seriously consider our proposal.

Yesterday's protest was regarded as a vote of no confidence for the Tung administration and we believe that the demonstration also sent a very positive signal to the rest of the world. We are proud that the march managed to finish in an absolutely peaceful and orderly manner. Businessmen and tourists alike from every corner of the world are pleased that Hong Kong is one of the safest countries to do business with and to live in. The protest illustrates that Hongkongers are determined to safeguard our quest for democracy and that our fight for democracy will be through peaceful means.

Another message we would like to express is our deep love for this wonderful harbour city. If we didn't love this city, we wouldn't have bothered to go out and express our opinion under the sweltering 33 degree Celsius heat. However, if the government insists on continuing to disappoint us, we cannot guarantee that our love for the city will endure. Some professionals interviewed by local newspapers have expressed their intent to emigrate if the government continues to neglect their voices.

Yesterday's message was crystal clear: "We want freedom of speech. We want a general election. We don't want Tung Chee-hwa." Even the blind and the deaf can still hear and see that, but we were astonished to hear that "the Government was surprised that there were so many people that protested against the government yesterday" (the Hongkong Economic Times, quoting government sources.). Before yesterday's protest, the Government still naively thought that there were only a few Hongkong citizens misled by foreign press and a few legislative councilors.

Mr Tung, you in a statement yesterday said you were "very concerned" about the mass protest and that you understood the people's aspirations. If you really understood the people's aspirations, you had better send Beijing a resignation letter at your earliest convenience. In the same statement, you repeated that it was Hong Kong's constitutional duty to enact the national security law. You got us wrong again, as you always do. No one said that we didn't need a national security law, we only asked for reasonable protection of our human rights, freedom of speech and a true dialog with the government in the legislative process. We felt really sick with the consultation paper for the Article 23, which forcefully undermined the voices of the opposition. We saw some silly tricks and spin doctoring (such as the posting of leftist secondary students' homework as evidence to support the legislation) in the hope of creating a false impression that the majority of Hongkongers support the government-proposed Article 23. We don't want a rushed law that would affect generations of people who genuinely love and intend to make Hong Kong their permanent place of residence.

Before leaving Hong Kong, Premier Wen Jiabao, you told the SAR officials not to disappoint the public. This is probably your wishful thinking as Mr. Tung's cabinet has repeatedly disappointed us over the past six years. You also asked for understanding, trust and solidarity. We understand that the current economic situation is not all the fault of Mr Tung, but can anyone wholeheartedly say that he has not played any role in the worsening of the situation? We trust the majority of our civil servants and frontline medical staff who contributed to the stability of the society and health of all Hongkong citizens in the current time of difficulties. Yesterday's march shows clearly that we have solidarity inside the community. The only people that are outside the circle of trust are a minority few that are trusted by Mr. Tung.

We totally agree with your last remark: "Hong Kong's future would be created by the people of Hong Kong." We are glad to hear that, but we would be happier to see some real action instead of just paying some lip service to all Hongkongers. If Hongkong's future is to be shaped by ourselves, then the first thing we would want is a general election for our own Chief Executive. Even Mr Tung would be welcome to be a candidate for Chief Executive if he dared.

Hong Kong still has a bright future if the SAR government can change its attitude and become accountable to the public. We, however, rather doubt if Mr Tung can change his attitude and whether he has the political wisdom to deal with the current crisis. Maybe the local economy can still wait another four years to see Mr Tung finish his historical mission on 30 June, 2007. Maybe the next SAR Chief Executive will be smarter than the current one (which is quite likely as it is very difficult for Beijing to find someone even more inept). But why don't you let Hongkongers choose our own CE? We couldn't choose any worse. Besides, even if the public chooses an incompetent CE, we wouldn't complain because it would be our choice, and then we'd surely know what to do in the next election.

Yours Truly,
A Group of Hongkong Citizens

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