Li Keqiang, China's current vice premier and premier-to-be, began three-day visit to Hong Kong on August 16, 2011. On the first day of his visit, Li tried to show concern for Hong Kong people's livelihoods by visiting a center for the elderly and a residential campus in Lam Tin district. However, Li's “friendly” gesture turned into a performance of political brutality when a male resident was forcibly dragged away and arrested by a number of “men in black”, because he wrote a political t-shirt with the slogan “Vindicate June 4“.
In a TV interview, the man said, “I am not protesting. My wife was playing with our kids downstairs. They saw a big crowd in the campus and called me to come down and join them. When I came down from my apartment, suddenly I was surrounded by a group of men in black. Then someone said, ‘take him away'. They dragged me to the corner without telling me what had happened. I live here in flat 26!”
Political t-shirts are casual wear in Hong Kong, and probably every one out of 15-20 Hong Kong citizens has a t-shirt with the slogan “Vindicate June 4″, as the city has organized the annual June 4 candlelight vigil for 22 years, with tens of thousands of people attending every year. Doctor fat posts two sets two sets of T-shirt design based on June 4 in his blog [zh]:
Two sets of June 4 T-shirt
One can imagine how the scene of a male resident being “kidnapped” from his own neighborhood because of a political t-shirt has outraged the local community.
To justify the operation, the Hong Kong government quickly issued a press statement [zh] claiming that the male resident is on the police's wanted list due a traffic incident back which took place in 2006.
“River crab” banquet delivered to Hong Kong
Local blogger Kursk is angry with the situation and wrote a post titled “If you don't want to see June 4 t-shirts, go back to Beijing!” [zh]
這是一件十分嚴重的事件，一定要追究。香港幾時禁止著六四t-shi rt架？果度仲要係私人住宅黎架大佬。特區警察同公安有咩分別呀 ？仲有，抬佢走既人冇表示身份，更加冇表示行使緊乜野法律權力，理論上係非法禁錮，係嚴重侵犯人權既做法。
侵犯人權太誇張？你試諗下，有一日無啦啦有四五個黑西裝大漢冇表明身份夾硬夾你走，佢地可以係黑社會點錯相、擄人勒索，甚至係公安跨省都得，咁你知驚未？
呢班黑衣人究竟係G4定係北京既國安？如果係前者，就係特區政府泛用武力既 問題，一定要投訴去監警會同立法會保安事務委員會；如果係後者， 事態就嚴重百倍－－大陸國安黎香港既私人住宅區向只係著住六四T -shirt既香港人施行武力，呢個唔只係一國兩制不保既問題，而係國 安南下香港鎮壓言論自由。
Am I exaggerating? Please imagine, if, one day, 4-5 men dressed in black suddenly dragged you away. They could be from a triad, or kidnappers or mainland police excising their power across the border. Wouldn't you be scared?
This group of men-in-black, are they from the Hong Kong police force's G4 department [political department], or are they Beijing police? If the former, then this is a case of abusive power by the SAR police force and we should complain to the police monitor council and the Security Panel of the Legislative Council. If the latter case, then the situation is 100 times more worrisome. It signifies not only the end of One Country, Two Systems, but the mainland police coming to Hong Kong to repress our freedom in expression.
Upon his arrival, Li Keqiang claimed that he had brought some good news (a set of favorable policies that would enhance Hong Kong economy). Journalist and blogger, Those were the days, describes the “gift set” as “a river-crab banquet” [zh]. The term “river crab” is a slang for “harmonious society“.
昨天，只是李副總理訪港第一天，北京風味的打壓反對者的「河蟹全席」，只上了頭盤，未來幾天香港人還可以慢慢「享用」！
Yesterday is the first day of vice premier Li Keqiang's visit. Only the first course in the Beijing-style “river crab banquet” of cracking down on dissent has been served. Hong Kong people will have a real taste of it in the future.Police's wanted list?
Martinoei explains [zh] the police's strategy in covering up their illegal arrest:
警察為咗掩飾自已膠，就話條友涉及2006年一宗交通事故，通緝緊，所以要拉佢。
首先，差佬點可能一眼睇出條友係通緝犯，但更膠係，你唔記得找你張牛肉乾，都可以係通緝犯。
First of all, it is impossible for the police to identify him on first sight. Moreover, it is extremely easy for someone to be listed as a wanted person, such as if you forget to pay an illegal parking fine.
況且牛肉乾未找而被通緝，好多時你交低罰款就走人。呢位著平反六四T恤人士可以被無條件釋放(唔係保釋)，分分鐘係因為即場掟低三百二十元，咁咪解除通緝。警隊要膠，都咪咁膠，有國安入咗香港警隊，唔該從實招來。
In the case of being “wanted” because of illegal parking, all you have to do is to pay the fine on the spot. This guy with the “Vindicate June 4 t-shirt”, the fact that he can walk out from the police station without bail is probably because he paid his HKD320 [less than USD50] fine to get himself unlisted from the wanted persons list. This is the most ridiculous cover-up. Please get back to the real issue of whether the mainland national security police have indeed been operating in Hong Kong.In the discussion thread on Martinoei's post, netizen Newbie said:
感覺上, 中國人普遍非常認同呢種”非法逮捕”, 對果種所謂過程唔合法就應該導致証據無效既思想非常薄弱.
即係合唔合法都好, 先拉人進行大搜查外加嚴刑迫供, 只要最後搵到蛛絲馬跡証明被捕者可能犯咗小小法, 整個過程就馬上變成 “合法合情合理” 了. 當個個人都認同呢種思想時, 我係差佬我都濫權喇!
呢個民族, 根本無決心付出某啲代價去平衡權力, 唔搞到 xx 霸權當道就有鬼喇!
Which means, they can arrest and torture someone, and with just a tiny scrap of evidence of a minor offense, the whole process becomes “legal, reasonable and justified”. If everyone accepts this, of course the police will do whatever they want.
Chinese people are unwilling to pay the price for balance of power, that's why the XX hegemony [note: probably refers to the Chinese Communist Party] is so dominating.
Magiccello said:
香港公安學習能力真高. 強國的手段學會了. 維穩辦主任曾偉雄好快又升官發財了.
Hong Kong police are learning from their mainland counterparts in strengthening the nation. Tsang Wai Hung, the head of the stability maintenance office, will be promoted very soon.The incident has been widely discussed on Facebook, and many users claimed that they would wear political t-shirts and walk around on the street during Li Keqiang's visit in Hong Kong. The University of Hong Kong Centenary Ceremony on August 18, 2011, will probably be another occasion for the display of political t-shirts (see the Facebook Event [zh] ).
