[Interview with Abraham Shek] Abraham Shek from the pro-Beijing camp criticises the government: "Lacking in talent and lacking in tolerance"
(9 Nov) The way the government of Hong Kong is dealing with the Extraditon Bill has not only attracted dissatisfaction from the pan-democracy camp, but also from within the pro-Beijing camp, which normally supports the government. Amongst those is Abraham Shek, a LegCo member for The Real Estate and Construction functional constituency. He criticised the government for "lacking in talent and lacking in tolerance" on its failure of dealing with the ongoing crisis.
Abraham Shek: I never supported the Bill
The Extradition Bill triggered a series of crisis which is still ongoing. As part of the pro-Beijing camp, Abraham Shek pointed out that he never supported the Bill. He compared the spirit of rule of law to a holy flame, a constant reminder that the law system in Hong Kong is different to that of in mainland China. If implemented, the proposed Extradition Bill will integrate the common law system in Hong Kong with the socialist legal system of mainland China, which will extinguish the rule of law's flame. He criticised Carrie Lam for being the main person who desires for this flame to be extinguished.
The Extradition Bill led to protests, with 2 million people hitting the streets at once during one of the protests. He said that whatever he was saying was said in hindsight. He felt that the citizens had already shown such an opposition to the bill. The last thing the government should have done was ignore the voice of the people, and this was exactly what they did.
Be it two hundred people or two million people, the government should still listen and respond, instead of avoiding the issue.
Although the Bill has been formally withdrawn, he feels that the social instability is not resolved yet. Like a matchstick, the Bill has kindled a much larger fire that has exposed the underlying conflicts in the city. For example, the government suppressed the Umbrella Movement in 2014. A lot of the senior officials thought the matter was over, but there were still a lot of unresolved issues in. He believes that the government did not do its job to resolve the conflicts, which has left the same problems to fester and grow until it exploded in 2019.
Abraham Shek suggests for an independent investigation committee to be setup
Looking at the recent developments of the movement, Shek expressed regret, as governmental officials, including himself "did not put enough effort into their jobs". He emphasises that the youngsters coming out to the protests is not a result of problems in the education system, but rather, it shows the responsible side of the youngsters. If the government wants to solve the current problems, the government needs to listen to people's voices, despite their political stance. For example, Carrie Lam proposed using the existing Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), instead of setting up an independent investigation committee to investigate the police over their alleged brutalities. This action has made the youngsters feel that they’re opinions are not heard, and that the government is not taking their words seriously.
At the same time, the government should not attribute the cause of the crisis to the housing problem in Hong Kong. Housing was never part of the five demands proposed by the protestors. Instead, what they demand for is justice, fairness, transparency and impartiality from the government, and not materialistic wants. What they require is a part of universal values.
Abraham Shek hopes the government would not think that they are doing a charitable work when they are handling this matter, as the dignity of the youngsters cannot be quantified, neither can it be bought with money.