Lisi
55 Kung Lok Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
171. Mari, 1974.
67
Dear
Blaker,
REF.
de
Some time age I wrote to you concerning the complaints ⚫f Mr. Lui Sung, who claimed, as do many ⚫ther oitizens and all to no avail, that the Government officials demolished his house and stole his money, after his wife had refused to pay a bribe. This is such a nernal ⚫ccurrence in Hong Kong that it does not surprise me in the least, though it leaves me angry, mainly because Government officials like the Colonial Secretary refuse to listen or take action. That they do not KNOW the truth, I cannot believe.
I am aware that you are no longer in the position of being "Hong Kong's man". I can only hope and pray that your successor wil be willing to listen to the cries of the people.
The Colonial Secretary wrote and told me that you were "satisfied that the case i been carefully investigated."
Since you are theusands of miles away, and either you nor your representative- from London listened to this man, may I ask what grounds you were "satisfied"? After all, when a complaint is made, one has to listen to two sides before knowing what is truth. Do you know who investigated? Do you know that this man was not even interviewed by the "investigater"? You are reported to have said that Mr. Lui was treated w with "considerable forbearance" by the authorities. Who gave you this information? I have no doubt that it was these so-called "considerate authorities!
You say th ̧t Mr. Lui's claim that his $800 were stolen is not "substantiated". What form would "substantiation” take? Our citizens have been told to report crime, and when they report it, they are told it was not "substantiated". Is he supposed to have a written statement from the officials whe robbed him that they took the money? Is he to be dubbed a liar? Had he anything to gain by blaming officials? Most Chinese are t●● afraid of officials and will take any insults rather than complain. They are blamed for not reporting. When they do report, they are told that their reports are not substantiated. They cannot win, can they?
You say that there is no evidence of a bribe being asked for. What kind of evidence do you want? We are told to report serruption, and when we repert, we are told that there is no evidence. Therefore corruption has spread till there is hardly any official one can feel sure of trusting eutside the Geverner himself.
You disappoint me, and as you can see, I am infuriated that you dub as lies everything a citizen says, and as truth everything an official says. That is why we have Godbers sheltering under your Government a care lots of them, all having robbed the poor of Hong Kong, and all worthy of being behind bars for the rest of their lives,
It does not new surprise me that Britain lost an
Empire, and that the Northern Ireland affair cannot be settled. The dictatorship of the bureaucracy here does what it likes, with full support from a Government such as Mr. Heath's It remains to be seen whether Mr. Wilson's will do better?
May I suggest that you stop listening only to the
authorities and begin to hear ordinary people?
ec The Col. Sec. Hong Kong.
Yours faithfully,
Е. Пелает
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