Grandma Wong Speaks Out in HK

Police subduing Alexandra Wong in last year's protests

 

Many of the people who participated in last year's anti-government protests were young, teenagers to their 20s, but there were seniors too, like Alexandra Wong Fung-yiu, who is 64 years old.

Also known as Grandma Wong, or Wong Po Po, she was seen at many protest rallies waving a large British flag.

However, she was last seen on August 11 last year at Tai Koo MTR station where she was injured and taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and not heard from again until recently.

Wong told the media today what happened to her

Two weeks ago she was allowed to come to Hong Kong and arrived on October 2. Wong has just finished her quarantine which is why she came out today to tell the media what happened to her since August last year.

Even though she did not commit any crime in Hong Kong during the protests, when Wong went back across the border to Shenzhen where she lives, Wong was arrested by mainland police. 

"Some mainland officers took me to a big room, searched my bag and put everything on a table... I was taken to a police station in Futian, was interrogated and signed a police statement," she recalled.

Then she was placed in an administrative detention facility in Futian for 15 days, and then held in criminal custody elsewhere for another 30 days until September 29 last year. 

During her various detentions, she was placed with up to 26 other people in a room to sleep that was less than 200 square feet.

Wong was known for waving British flag

Wong said she was subjected to long periods of interrogation during the detention, particularly focused on her role in the Hong Kong protests.

"They asked if I went to protest with anyone, and did I see people using violence... There were four teams of officers who interrogated me," she said. "I didn't know what crime I committed."

Officers also forced her to stand in front of a Chinese flag for hours at a time, and searched her Shenzhen flat. She also had to sign an official document, promising not to take part in future protests or give media interviews... but perhaps she has just violated that by speaking to reporters today? 

And then for five days from September to October last year, officers took her to Shaanxi province for a patriotic education tour. 

Upon returning to Shenzhen she was released on police bail on condition that she stay at home. National security officers came by regularly to check up on her.

"I was scared I would be stopped from coming back to Hong Kong... I was scared everyday something might happen again everyday," Wong said.

Wong participated in many protests last year

Opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting of the Democratic Party called on the Hong Kong government to find out why Wong was detained on the mainland. 

"I know Wong personally and I couldn't see anything she said that was not trustworthy... What she experienced was typical of how the Communist Party tackled dissidents," he said.

"It was scary how mainland authorities could detain a Hongkonger based on her social activism in Hong Kong... The city's government must make representation to the mainland, even though I know that they would not dare to do so."

Wong did not violate any law and yet she was subjected to such intense interrogation and scrutiny for over a year, just for participating peacefully in the protests.

Imagine what would have happened to her if she had violated any laws...

 

Justice for the Crimes Committed?

The street scene in Mongkok on December 16 last year

Today a woman was sentenced to 80 hours of community service after she was convicted of throwing a water bottle at a police car during last year's anti-government protests.

Michelle Lai Hoi-ching, 27, had pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal damage even though the police vehicle was not damaged.

Police has not been made accountable for actions

Her defense lawyer told West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday that a probation report on Lai was favourable and that the probation officer had recommended 80 hours of community service as an appropriate sentence.

The report also said Lai was seeking psychiatric help, and has learned to control her anger and impulses. She also felt sincere regret for her actions.

The incident happened at 1am on December 16 last year in Mongkok, when police had used tear gas on protesters in the area.

Lai was at the scene and as she was leaving she threw her water bottle at the police car that even though sustained no damage, officers arrested her anyway.

The police have inflicted a lot more pain and physically injured protesters last year -- did they get prosecuted for roughly handling them? And firing thousands of canisters of tear gas at people, protesters and those who happened to be in the area, that can cause serious respiratory illnesses? 

Numerous incidents of police brutality last year

Because the five-member panel from overseas was never able to properly investigate the officers because of limited powers, the so-called Independent Police Complaints Council instead issued a report that did not criticize the police at all, saying the use of force was only responding to violence during the protests.

When compared against that, it seems trivial for Lai to even be arrested and then sentenced for what she did.

But this is the new normal for Hong Kong, where everything can be criminalized...

One piece of good news is one of the senior protesters known as "Grandma Wong" has safely returned to Hong Kong. 

The 63-year-old Alexandra Wong was frequently spotted at anti-government protests waving a large flag with a Union Jack. However, she was last seen August 11 when she was surrounded by police in front of Tai Koo MTR station. 

Alexandra Wong taken away August 14, 2019

She later told the media that she was detained in Shenzhen last year where she lives and was awaiting trial.

Wong said she was detained August 14 at a detention centre in Futian for "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", a common charge against dissidents on the mainland. 

In any event she released a short video sent to lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick. While clutching a duck painted with the Union Jack on it, Wong said she was back safely, but lamented that Hong Kong had changed already.

That's for sure.

Record Voter Turnout

A relatively short line to vote around noon in my neighbourhood

This morning I woke up to find that some of my friends had already voted in the District Council elections. They had voted when the polling stations opened at 7.30am!

I thought I would do my usual routine of having breakfast but a bit earlier so I could go vote before heading to the swimming pool.

This morning the line snaked up the street on the left

But by the time I turned the corner a block away from the polling station, there was already a massive line that stretched around the block, almost to the housing estate at the top of the slope.

I wasn't prepared to wait so I headed to the pool first where I was out-swum by a Chinese guy who passed me every four laps!

Eventually I finished my swim, and at the MTR station picked up a sandwich thinking, if I have to wait in line, I might as well eat.

When I got out of the Kennedy Town MTR station just before noon I half expected a line right outside, but there wasn't one and I walked towards the polling station thinking the line would be around the corner, but instead it was very short.

I only had to wait about 15 minutes and too my relief no riot police in sight. As I lined up to get my ballot, there was an elderly woman in front of me. She gave the polling staff her ID card and then showed them a business card with the picture of the candidate running for the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong. He's actually the incumbent for my constituency.

This elderly woman on the right revealed who she voted for

The polling staff tried to tell the elderly woman to not show them who she would vote for and she didn't understand -- she thought she was voting at that moment. But they had yet to give her the ballot!

She didn't understand and they had to tell her to put that card away and then find someone to assist her while she voted.

For me it took less than a minute to vote, fold the ballot and then put it in the ballot box.

There was a massive voter surge in the morning that by early afternoon the number of votes was the same as the 2015 election -- which is surprising because I remember people waiting in long lines in the dark to vote.

In any event by 9.30pm a record 2.85 million people out of 4.1 eligible voters had cast their ballots, or 69 percent of the electorate. At 12.40am it was reported 2.94 million people voted, 71.2 percent of the electorate.

People concerned about vote rigging are standing by tonight

Now there are people waiting around polling stations to wait for the results. In general it seems areas that saw lots of violence like Sham Shui Po, Tai Koo Shing, Tsuen Wan, and Tai Po had a huge voter turnout. In Sha Tin City One, for example, over 80 percent of voters cast their ballots, which is unprecedented.

It will be interesting to see what the results are in these areas.

In the meantime, there are video clips online of voters being bribed. One showed pictures of people getting a large box, perhaps a pillow?, while another showed orange bags being distributed, but it was unclear what was in them. Another DAB candidate handed out his card, much like the elderly voter in front of me, and together with some shopping coupons from a supermarket chain.

Over 3,000 complaints about voting were filed today, from people's votes used by others posing as them, to bribery, to busing in people from across the border.

Counting begins... except I won't be staying up for that... stay tuned.