The last governor of Hong Kong, Patten: Chinese refugees “occupied” Hong Kong | Occupy Hong Kong | Great escape

【NTDTV, Beijing time, July 03, 2022】Last Governor of Hong KongPattenA few days ago, it was stated that it was not the United Kingdom that “occupied” Hong Kong, but in fact many refugees from mainland China.

According to the Voice of America,PattenOn July 1, he attended the signing event of his new book “Hong Kong Diary” and delivered a speech in London. He criticized the “Hong Kong version of the National Security Law” for eroding Hong Kong’s common law, undermining Hong Kong’s democratic legal system, and attacking press freedom.

Recently, the Hong Kong government revised its textbooks, saying that Hong Kong was not a colony, but was occupied by Britain. In this regard, Patten retorted that the United Kingdom has not “occupied” Hong Kong, but that refugees from mainland China “occupied” Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is overwhelmingly made up of refugees from the Great Leap Forward, the Great Famine, and forced cannibalism in mainland China because of the Cultural Revolution,” he said. Participate in a candlelight evening commemorating those killed in Tiananmen Square.”

According to public information, in the 1950s, because they could not stand the famine, a large number of mainlanders fled to Hong Kong smuggling, known as the “”port of escapeAfter the three-year famine, in the 1960s, in order to escape the persecution of the Cultural Revolution, there was another wave of escape from Hong Kong. Among the escapees from Hong Kong, the number of Cantonese people was the largest, exceeding 2 million, followed by some Chinese from Fujian, Sichuan and northern cities. people.

Those fleeing Hong Kong are mainly young people, including urban residents, students, educated youth, workers, and even soldiers.

In his speech, Patten criticized the “Hong Kong version of the National Security Law” for eroding Hong Kong’s common law and attacking press freedom. He mentioned Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, who is a representative of the achievements of mainland refugees in Hong Kong. Jimmy Lai was suppressed by the CCP and the Hong Kong government for supporting and participating in the Hong Kong pro-democracy protest movement. He was charged with multiple crimes and imprisoned. Apple Daily was also forced to suspend publication.

Patten recalled that Percy Cradock, the former British ambassador to China, told him that Communist leaders might be rogue dictators, but after the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, they would keep their promises.

“The truth is, we can’t trust them,” Patten said.

However, he remains full of confidence in Hong Kong’s future, believing that the collapse of the CCP’s totalitarian government may only be a momentary thing.

Taking the fall of the Berlin Wall as an example, he said that when a British official friend visited Berlin, Germany in 1989, a child was shot and killed while swimming from East Berlin to West Berlin. The official’s subordinates told him that Germany would not change during his lifetime. But within two or three weeks, Germany was unified. “My friend said, there will be no more (cold) wars, there will be no more East Berlin, there will be no more East Germany, and they will all be swept into the rubbish heap of history.”

Patten encouraged Hong Kongers: “Things will change. But for things to change, some brave people must stand up and defend what is good, right, good.”

In an interview with British media during a book signing event, Patten, 78, said he was full of sadness when he recalled the ceremony for the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty 25 years ago. In his farewell speech that year, he promised Hong Kong people that Hong Kong would not change, because according to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the CCP promised the principle of “one country, two systems” that Hong Kong can enjoy autonomy, freedom of speech and other rights, which will remain unchanged for 50 years. .

But unfortunately, the Chinese government has not kept its promise. He said the international community has a responsibility to pressure Beijing on the Hong Kong issue and make the CCP pay the price for breaking its promises.

(Reporter Luo Tingting comprehensive report/responsible editor: Zhu Xinrui)

URL of this article: http://cn.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/07/03/a103470550.html

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