withdraw my petition to HM the Queen and complaint to OMELCO, and admit that all allegations of impropriety against the administration had been unfounded.
These terms were of course rejected, and I was threatened With removal from the AAB. I of court for supplying information obtained in the court action was later threatened with contempt to OMELCO. Even though the Senior Crown Counsel had said in open court that the documents "are there for all the world to see", it transpired that the Attorney General [their] distribution to any third party.
was "clearly opposed to might add, for the story they tell is one
With good reason, I deception, extending not only to the AAB and OMELCO but to EXCO
of unbridled
and even the court.
Finally,
"
when my term of appointment ended I from the AAB. Such are the rewards in Hong Kong for a citizen's
was removed attempt to be loyal to the truth and the concept of an open, responsible government. Stripped of my official position, I feel, like Fang Lizhi, honoured in a way to have been rejected
by a machiavellian bureaucracy which serves the interests of few and strangles the aspirations of the people for accountability and democracy.
a
We should not delude ourselves with the notion that only China treats dissenters in a "hostile" manner, while here in Hong Kong we have a liberal and magnanimous administration which is tolerant of critics. Just as in China, some criticism is permitted, but when it begins to strike home and unearth the truth one can expect to face exactly the same fierce government attitude, which may be summed up as "get rid of him" or "shut him up. "
The communist system goes further of course than our benevolent oligarchy does, in imprisoning selected dissenters "as examples" to deter others. But it should be borne in mind that those in Hong Kong who challenge the tycoons and higher echelons of government do face harassment and hostility from the authorities.
Ultimately, it is the Governor, Sir David Wilson, who has to answer for his administration. Instead of moving it in the direction of greater openness and freedom of speech, he has chosen to maintain the old colonial status quo, with dangerous implications for the future.
W Miam Meacham April 5,1988
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