Peter Tsang Yu-hung on SCMP (3)

Pony Ma & Others

14 August 2013

Peter Tsang:

Thanks for the e-mail expressing your point of view. My tragedy encounter in 1967 was definitely a big big lesson that I have learnt. It was harsh, painful & ever forever unforgettable. At that time, as a juvenile of age 16, how much I know about politics, I really wonder ! Well, what had happened had happened. I never blame anyone but I really feel deepest sorry & regret. My disclosing of criminal record openly is solely because I would like HK people to know the history of HK, completely & truly. Colonial governance & One country Two systems Peking governance is entirely different & I believe people of HK who are 50 or above will agree with what I said. You are both correct to say there is no absolute truth & it depends greatly on individual belief & ideology. Yet for most common civilian, as the late Tang Siu Ping said, there are cats in black & white color, those that are active in catching mice are good cats. Therefore to whatever government & despite of whatever party that is on the throne, should country it govern become more prosperous & her people’s life is much & better improved, it is unquestionably a good government.  History is important & I suppose no one will argue or bargain it truthfulness. My wish is to have buried history be dug out from the ground & let people to review, to justify & to conclude. For those who are held responsible of their wrong doing should be brave enough to standup & confess especially to the victims that they have created. Bob, you are correct, there were 51 HK citizens killed & I wonder why the Bauhinia medal bearer has sealed his lips & has kept dead silent in this issue. He should feel shame of himself of receiving honour that did not belong to him, not even partly, in the past & at present.  I am not a rioter. I am a very hard working nurse working in public hospitals, contributing proactively to the development of the HK society. My being put behind bars is not because I was member of the triad society nor I was involved in illegal activities that done harm to the people of HK. The truth is I was born a Chinese & to love China is no sin nor guilty but 100% correct & natural. I am nobody but just a common civilian yet as far as human rights is concerned, I totally deserve respect & recognition. The reason why I choose nursing as my life long career is because it is politically free & most important it is a profession that always needed by every human being on earth. Happy to say, we will never loose our job even in war time. From student nurse to Nursing teacher & Nursing Manager, I struggled & worked very hard with majority of lady colleagues in the hospital for the past nearly forty years. Honestly speaking, that was extremely not easy ! One day I passed away, I will pass away with dignity ! This is what money can never buy !

Pony Ma:

No matter what happened in 1967 and whether they clear your record or not, you will always have my respect as an individual!  You should not feel sorry nor have regrets. I am proud of you for how you stood up on your belief, whether other people agree on that belief or not. You acted, instead of like most of us, who either were on the sideline, or not mature enough to have formulated any beliefs.

C.C. Lin:

Peter Tsang, I take the same position as Pony. You always have my respect as an individual person. I am also proud of your work. It is great to have you as my friend!

Bob Choi:

Peter Tsang, at age 16, you were just a kid, legally a minor. The court's sentencing on you was too harsh. They should have called your parents to take you home... IF it were normal times. But summer of '67 was not normal times, not for Hong Kong and certainly not for China. There will always be people who admired you for what you did and those who felt you were simply misled by propaganda. Don't let this bother you because in politics there is no truth and people are entitled to their own opinions. What matters is how you resolve this within yourself and make the best of your unique experience.  If I were you, Peter, I would start writing about my experience in '67 and how it has affected your life. Take your case to your readers, not to some "committee".

Peter Wu:

Peter Tsang, I am unsure what they charged you with back in 1967. However, if it’s illegal assembly, there is not a lot you can do to get that conviction over-turned. However, I have to ask the motive of the cops who arrested and charged you in the first place. Did they happen to stumble across it as part of their routine patrol?  Did they lay in wait for you and your school friends? Would they do that to students walking out of La Salle College or the HKU? Was it a case of the cops getting personal and getting even (having been pelted with rocks the night before)? Was it just sheer pettiness? Knowing the mentality of the law enforcement agencies in HK, I strongly suspect all of them. But can you prove it so you can seek leave to appeal? I applaud yours coming out in the open about your conviction. Like you, I am extremely proud of it. Why? Because it was patriotism that got you into trouble. Let’s face it. You didn’t rob a bank, you were not a serial rapist, you did not commit some indescribable smut in the dark corner in a men’s toilet, you were not a paedophile. You were not a dirty young men who clandestinely film up the skirts of passing females? In fact, you didn’t commit anything anywhere near the description of a ‘misdemeanour’. If you look at what had happened to you from another angle, that incident was the reason for the making of you – to be the Chinese Peter Nightingale as you have become. Everything cloud has a silver lining. Good things do come out of bad. Your jailing was the motivator behind your professional and personal successes. In its absence, you could well become another Joe Public – a complete nobody, one without any story to tell and nothing to be proud of. Nothing for your children and grand-children to identify with. By accepting the irreversibility of what had happened, you will move on. Nelson Mandela rises above everything because he forgives. He said that he didn’t hate the people behind apartheid, he just hated the system. So he contested the election and became its first black president. Why? Because he wanted to change the system. And change he did. I think you should do the same.

Stella Tse:

Well said Pony. Peter Tsang, we are proud of you, of what you have done in life, in youth, in your career and in you as a person.

-To be continued-