Confessions of Lee Yee: My greatest awakening took place last year
Translated by Guardians of Hong Kong2 August 2020
Lee Yee, a veteran of Hong Kong media for half a century, continues as a columnist for Apple Daily under the National Security Law. He was undoubtedly fearful and apprehensive, but maintained it was not yet time to put away his pen. During the anti-extradition law amendment bill (anti-ELAB) movement of the past year, he wrote:
“There were plenty of young people on the frontline who were afraid. The point is not to allow yourself be overcome by fear in a fearful environment.”
Lee said the social situation in 2019 overthrew his long-held views on Hong Kong. He said,
“I never thought that Hong Kong would be like this. I always thought of Hongkongers as smart, shrewd, sophisticated and would never act in such a way. I have been here for such a long time, since 1948, that I thought I knew Hong Kong inside out. I thought I knew it too well.”
He remembered on 13 November 2019, the day after the fierce "Defence of the No 2 Bridge in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)”. He recalled, “I was really scared for CUHK and PolyU. I was in tears and couldn’t sleep. The next morning, there was an impromptu gathering of the ‘silver-haired league’ [an organized group of older activists] to deliver a message to the US embassy. The turnout was low, so I joined in.” He lacked the courage to join the young people on the frontline. Even if he was younger, he still might not have the courage. However, his frustrations were suppressed for too long and he felt he had to do something.
84 year-old Lee Yee believed the past year to be the biggest awakening in his life, accompanied by repeated misjudgments.
A radical change in view
Lee grew up in a region ruled by the Japanese Occupation. In 1948, he came to Hong Kong and studied in a leftist school. After the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, he witnessed the three red banners, the catastrophic 10-year Cultural Revolution, the reform and opening up [in the 1970s] and the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the handing over of Hong Kong’s sovereignty. Through which he transformed from a leftist to a democrat, giving his own testimony in a great era of change. However, on one afternoon in July 2020, Lee said:
“I did not really experience any drama in the past 20 years. Last year, the drama in Hong Kong was at its peak and Hong Kong has become different from what it once was.”
The most frequent example he talked about was the “LIHKG kids" [LIHKG is an online forum for post-secondary students] who succeeded in crowdfunding in just one week last year. At that time, in order to attract international attention for the Hong Kong anti-ELAB movement at the G20 summit held at the end of June 2019, a group of ‘LIHKG kids” launched a crowdfunding campaign on June 25. Within three hours they reached their funding target of HK$6.7 million, with the end result being advertisements in 13 newspapers across 9 countries from June 27-29. The same team succeeded in crowdfunding twice afterwards in response to police brutality against activists on August 11 and on October 1 for national day with the slogan “Birthday of a strong country, let’s motherf***ing celebrate!”
Lee was frank in admitting that his experience told him such a thing would never succeed, yet the “LIHKG kids” made it.
His misjudgement on public opinions
As events unfolded in November with the police besieging two universities, Lee was often unable to sleep and found himself in tears. On November 12, as the battle raged at CUHK, Lee learned the next morning that a group of senior citizens [so-called “silver-haired league”] were going to the British and US embassies to deliver letters. "I thought to myself, no-one will go with me, how do I join in at my age? But then a fan of mine said he would accompany me, so we went. Because the whole situation was just too upsetting, I had to do something, no matter how trivial. (Reporter: Because you saw the plight of young people on the frontlines?) Yes, I don’t have the courage myself. Even if I was younger, I still may not have the courage. My mindset may be outdated but I always reflect on myself.”
Recalling the battle of PolyU last year, he remembered the news on television showing citizens complaining about the protests and affecting their commute to work. "A lot of TV interviews showed this, even NOW TV. And this was why the Hong Kong and Central government misjudged and let the district council elections go ahead. I had the same thoughts as they did at the time: with most citizens acting out of self-preservation, what would come of this election? But when I arrived at the polling station that morning (November 24), I was taken aback by how long the queue was and at that point I knew the situation had changed and I knew again that I had misjudged."
“When one has aged, your experience is no longer relevant. You have to listen to new ideas and new knowledge because everyone at some point will be tripped up by their own experience. Only by constantly and critically reflecting on oneself will one progress, will society progress, and will a nation progress. Since a young age, I have cultivated a spirit of self-reflection and self-criticism.
“Just as I’ve written recently, there were many times last year where I disagreed with certain events at the time they happened. I felt that they (protesters) shouldn’t have done this or that, it was too risky or not worth it. But in the end, what could I do? If you are not one of them, then you should not (have the right to) tell them to stop.”
Lee admitted that during the events of June 12 [where a demonstration escalated and police fired teargas and rubber bullets], he wanted to tell people not to attack, that it was dangerous. “It won’t work. LegCo will still push it (the ELAB) through, I thought to myself. I didn’t say it out loud nor did I write this, so no one knew that I was actually so conservative. And of course when I verbalised this, it simply confirmed to the world that I was,” he laughed.
Looking back at Lee‘s column on June 11 last year entitled “Power From a Million People”, recognising the 1 million people march on June 9 and the conflict that night, he wrote: “Several days before the march, large numbers of young people set up street counters in various districts promoting the march and encouraging people to participate. They took part in the march and refused to leave at night. In the end, the subsequent police-civilian conflict was definitely provoked by the government’s statement." He concluded, “There will likely be another march. I hope the Civil Human Rights Front and principals of all parties would plan in advance and come up with better ideas so that the parade will not only be a show of resolve but also a source of power when we are seemingly cornered.”
His linkage with the younger generations
The general impression of Lee is of a person who is able to converse with young people, particularly those in the localist movement. Lee said he actually had little contact with them, although they did converse from time to time. For instance, he once invited Youngspiration members Regine Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung Chung-hang to his radio show back in 2015 when Yau was challenging Priscilla Leung Mei-fun for a district council seat. He has not spoken to them since. "Of course I followed the events (at that time) closely. Their actions were widely criticised but I supported them. I thought there was nothing wrong with what they were doing. I hate it when people readily label others as a ‘spy’ or ‘double agent’, as if they are the only ones opposing the CCP and everyone else is a communist special agent.”
“I wrote a piece in support of their [localists’] approach at that time. Why? Because I was also young once.” Lee reckoned young people would make mistakes, just as everyone else makes mistakes. But the younger generation have perseverance, because they do not have the baggage that come with material commitments such as families. As such, they are free to pursue earnestly the things that they are striving for. “It is those individuals who have no regard for the existing rules who are willing to break those rules, that will drive progress. If mistakes are made, that’s okay. Who doesn’t?” He added, this was not to say that he felt that the younger generation had made a mistake but simply a general statement.
Lee recalled in the 1960s, the events of May 68 in France, the US civil rights movement, the hippies, the black civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement. “I have seen all these, the violence involved, the extremes to which the protests occurred. They were much more intense than in Hong Kong. At the peak of the protests, there was not a single intact window in the UC Berkeley campus. Yet the students from that university eventually achieved great things.”
Lee opined, “The problem of the older generation is that we use our experience to limit the ideas of the younger ones."
Localism can be incorporated into the pursuit of democracy
“I think (the rise of) localism is a natural course of events. I support it. I never supported Hong Kong independence (on the other hand). But I always emphasise that Hongkongers should have the freedom to advocate independence.”
Lee believes that self-determination is a right and independence is a goal. There are many options for self-determination—federalism, one country two systems, or one country one system. “I think (Hong Kong) can have self-determination and autonomy, because people are [by nature] free and independent. As for the goal you pursue, I may not feel it is practical but others may feel this goal is the most practical, in which case they can go ahead to pursue it.”
Lee recalled this year’s June 4th vigil as the only one in its 30-year history which was objected by the police. In the end, Victoria Park was still filled with candlelight, although this time people were shouting different slogans. Although the usual “Vindicate June 4th” was heard, “Hong Kong independence” was even louder. The organisers, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, formed a circle on the football court where the main stage would normally stand, and carried on with the vigil. People formed a larger circle in an adjacent court, shouting "Liberate Hong Kong, the Revolution of our Times" and sang "Glory to Hong Kong".
Lee wrote in 2017, “I myself have the experience and memories of June 4th. I remember and silently commemorate this day every year. But my daughter and grandson do not share the same feelings and do not commemorate, and so I will not blame the younger generation for not having the same feelings." In a column on 5 June 2018, he recalled watching the "Tank Man" [from the 1989 pro-democracy student movement in Beijing] on television: “That image stunned me. I couldn’t speak for most of the day. Many of my thoughts and ideas are closely tied to this image."
Now, when people shout "Hong Kong Independence" at a June 4th vigil, Lee sees it this way:
“It is because they think it’s impossible to achieve the type of democracy they are pursuing but they also feel it is right to pursue it. The fact is, I agree with them. Under One Country Two Systems, it is impossible for democracy to develop, but what one can fight for is the right to self-determination. Obviously, this is becoming increasingly unlikely, which is why they feel that for Hong Kong to have democracy, China must have democracy. This is even more difficult to achieve than Hong Kong independence. So, both ideas are valid.”
Lee believes that it is impossible to have democracy in Greater China or to have democracy bestowed [by the Central Government]. Therefore, democracy would have to be achieved locally first. Then, it shall rise to the level above at the Central Government before federal democracy can be realized.
“What we fought for in the past year was self-determination. Other countries and the international community are in support of Hong Kong’s autonomy and self-determination. Pompeo (US Secretary of State) said he would be watching the September election closely. What is he trying to see? Whether Hong Kong has autonomy.”
Postscript:
The government disqualified a large number of electoral candidates even before the nomination period for the September LegCo elections ended. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on the last day the nomination period (31 August) that she would be using the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the elections for a year, and requested an interpretation of the Basic Law from the National People’s Congress on the one-year legislative “vacuum period”. Is the ”existence of Hong Kong’s autonomy” still in question now?
Source: CitizenNews HK, https://bit.ly/2XrlOsS