Oldest protester in 2016 Mong Kok Civil Unrest released

Text and photos by Chiu Wan, 9 August 2020

It was 8 August at Tai Lam Correctional Institution. 

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Foreword

The famous British poet Wystan Hugh Auden visited Hong Kong in 1938 - when Japan invaded China; a war started in Guangzhou and Hong Kong was also occupied later. Auden wrote a poem for Hong Kong, it ends as follows:

Ten thousand miles from home and What’s-Her-Name

The bugle on the Late Victorian hill

Puts out the soldier’s light; off-stage, a war

Thuds like the slamming of a distant door:

We cannot postulate a General Will;

For what we are, we have ourselves to blame.

This poem is like a prophecy of Hong Kong’s fate as well as for Brother Sam - we always have to spend our whole life looking for the General Will, or collective goal, in repeated wars and oppression.

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Although Tai Lam Correctional Institution is in an isolated location, around a hundred people still arrived early in the morning to wait for Brother Sam to be released and dropped off by a prison van at the roundabout. This is the usual procedure. 

Apart from his family, people waiting for Brother Sam span the political spectrum, from the left to the right. Everyone was waiting for him, the eldest prisoner among those who were convicted of rioting.

Stepping out of the prison van, Brother Sam did not look like a 74-year-old man at all but rather like a slim, tanned steel worker.

At the end of the suffering, one learns how to let go and move on -- Sam Gor told us he lost 12lbs with a smile on his face. He was assigned as a gardener at the prison, working every day outdoors starting from 08:30am. He is tanned like a young man now from working under the scorching sun. “It’s OK. Not really that tiring. I think I did learn something from that,” he said.

Of course, he was happy to be released from prison, but what made him even happier was that most of his old friends are safe. “I saw many people being arrested, beaten up and heavily injured from TV news. I have been worrying that fellow protesters I know are in danger. I am relieved to see that everyone is safe.”

When he talked about his family, Sam Gor looked calm at first but got more emotional later: “Of course, my family understands me. I want to thank my family for supporting me unconditionally. During these years in prison, I had been reflecting upon myself and realised that I was not being good enough to my family, friends and fellow protesters.”

His face turned even more serious when it came to fellow protesters, “Very grateful for their sacrifice. I thank them. We must survive if we want to achieve anything!”

Deep down, he regretted not being able to participate in the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement. He managed to say something only after a long silence, with a choking voice, “I think….(a long silence)…..Hongkongers have made huge sacrifices, too much. And I am proud of Hongkongers. I am very touched.”

Brother Sam lives in Kowloon East. If he could have voted in the pro-democracy primaries organised by democrats, he said, “I would definitely have voted for the youths.” His first choice would be Joshua Wong for Geographical Constituencies and Henry Wong for the Functional Constituencies. 

“No matter what, my priority is always the younger generation. I hope they can be freed from any burden and will fight for Hong Kong wholeheartedly, instead of looking after their own interests, either for themselves or their political parties.”

Although he missed the primaries, he was hopeful that he could vote in the election in September. Yet, his hope was dashed. “It’s not totally unexpected but I never thought it would happen in such a short time and in a brutal way.” At the same time, he felt relieved: “It doesn’t really matter. The earlier they take off their disguise, the earlier we recognize the reality and get prepared for the next fight.”

The Legislative Council (LegCo)Election was postponed. Democrats are facing another challenge -- the one-year temporary LegCo. Brother Sam is worried that the democrats will be divided. He hopes that democrats can stay united and make the same decision. If the four disqualified candidates from the Civic Party are going to be ousted from the Council, the democrats should quit the Legislative Council altogether and boycott the temporary LegCo.

“I understand that fights via the LegCo will incur the lowest cost and minimal sacrifice. I support it. But if you can’t do anything in LegCo, it’s better not to be part of it. Quit it together to show your integrity. The power of unity will be even more impactful if you can show it to the world.”

Brother Sam hopes to visit imprisoned fellow protesters frequently, and introduce to protesters on trial what life in prison is like. “As a former prisoner, I want to tell them that imprisonment is not the end of the world. If you know more about the rules inside in advance, then you won’t panic as much.”

I was most impressed by the scene at Brother Sam’s release from the prison. He was welcomed by people from across the political spectrum, the left-wing League of Social Democrats, Civic Party, to the localists. How did Brother Sam connect with them?

Brother Sam explained that he has been joining the June 4 rally and July 1 march for decades. He remembered that it was the pan-democrats who motivated him to join the pro-democracy movements. Then, he started to feel that the pan-democrat way did not work anymore. He particularly disagrees with certain pan-democrats who accuse others of being traitors. So, he is more and more inclined to support the localists now. 

He still remembered when Tam Tak-chi [an opposition activist] accused some young protesters who wore masks as “spies” in the 2016 Mong Kok Protest. “Why did you make such an accusation with no evidence? They have a job and they couldn’t let their bosses know (that they participated in a protest). He [Tam] still hasn’t apologised for this. I won’t forgive someone who have done things like this easily. You have hurt someone. I won’t forgive him until he apologises for that. I am holding a grudge. This is not personal. I am talking about the way he does things. I dislike how pan-democrats have always tried to suppress the youths.”

Brother Sam continued, “The localists are truly passionate. I prefer their ideologies more.” He emphasised that there must be a trade-off and he cannot support every political party. Still, he won’t attack anyone just because of differences in their political views, and will try his best to keep in touch with them, “As I have always said, there can be different ways to achieve the same goal. It’s OK to be different.”

“The younger generation is, of course, inexperienced and that’s why they make mistakes. How can you learn something without making any mistake? You have to give them opportunities. Don’t be harsh. We have to help them. The future belongs to the youths.” He is generous to the youths because he feels that he, as part of the older generation, is responsible for the worsening situation now. “I didn’t expect that Hong Kong will fall to an all-time low that quickly. The youths have no future now. The situation now is much worse than in the past. We, as the older generation, are responsible for this. We owe so much to the younger generation.”

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Postscript

After Brother Sam was released, his daughter accompanied him all day long. The face mask may have hidden her smile, but not her eyes which brimmed with joyful tears.

“I am happy for him. If we were him, we would feel tortured inside the prison too.”

Suddenly, Brother Sam took her phone, smiled at the screen and made funny faces. The boy on the screen was Brother Sam’s grandson. According to his daughter, they are extremely close.

When Brother Sam was sent to the prison, his grandson was only 4 years old and could not understand why his grandfather suddenly disappeared. “Why is he still not home? Where has he been? What has he done?" 

Her daughter once took her son to visit Brother Sam in prison, but he still could not comprehend what had happened and thought that his grandfather just went to work.

He is 7 years old now -- his grandfather is finally off work.

Source: The Stand News, https://www.thestandnews.com/society/近百人迎接旺角衝突最老抗爭者出獄-sam-哥-我地欠後生/?fbclid=IwAR3isQkHot-KX8JecDTjF_uiJfijwIRzBKFmblI1a6LBiul4z56hIp9eBz4