HK Prisoners in China Part 4

HK   Prisoners   in   China   Part   4

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A   firm   believer   in   the   Peking   Government's   policy   of   modernization,   he   also   became   a   consultant   to   a   newly   formed   Chinese   investment   company   which   was   set   up   to   attract   foreign   investment.  

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A   former   classmate   from   the   Diocesan   Boys'   School   recalled   that   Mr.   Huang   was   "extremely   intelligent"   but   "extremely   arrogant.   He   claimed   to   have   known   Chinese   leader   Mr.   Deng   Xiaoping   personally,   which   somewhat   justified   his   claim   of   inside   knowledge   of   Chinese   affairs.   Another   former   friend   said:   “There   is   no   way   Hanson   was   a   spy.   “He   was   too   pro-China   and   wanted   to   help   China   any   way   he   could.”  

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Like   many   parents   of   prisoners   who   were   not   informed   about   their   children's   incarceration   or   conviction,   Mrs.   Huang   waited   two   years   before   she   was   allowed   to   visit   her   son   in   his   Peking   detention   center.  

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She   does   not   believe   her   son   is   a   spy   either.   In   a   recent   interview,   she   is   reported   to   have   said   prison   life   does   not   appear   to   have   affected   her   son's   outlook   on   life   and   he   has   set   up   a   strict   reading   schedule   --   economics   and   natural   science   during   the   day   and   law   and   literature   at   night.  

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Despite   a   few   grey   hairs,   he   was   in   good   health,   she   said.   Mrs.   Huang   says   she   has   not   sought   the   help   of   the   Hongkong   Government   in   securing   her   son's   release.  

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Like   Mr.   Liu,   she   is   prepared   to   wait   it   out.   Observers   point   out   the   issue   of   human   rights   will   become   increasingly   important   in   Hongkong   in   the   runup   to   1997.  

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"If   political   prisoners   now   languishing   in   China's   jails   are   any   indication,   imagine   the   repercussions   if   the   Chinese   found   out   the   names   of   those   who   are   voicing   their   objections   on   the   joint   declaration   to   the   assessment   office?"   asked   one   analyst.

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Although   the   joint   declaration   on   Hongkong's   future   makes   it   clear   individual   freedoms   will   be   respected   under   the   United   Nations   covenant   on   civil   and   political   rights   after   1997,   it   fails   to   point   out   China   is   not   a   signatory   to   this   pact.    

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“We   have   to   trust   the   Chinese   will   respect   and   observe   the   covenant   as   it   affects   Hongkong   residents   and   so   far   there   is   no   indication   they   will   not,"   said   a   political   analyst  

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Said   another:   "Even   though   China's   has   lagged   far   behind   ours,   they   could   have   imposed   their   own   judicial   system   on   us   any   time   they   wanted   to   in   the   last   35   years.”  

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“The   fact   that   they   didn't   must   mean   something.   “  

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Is   it   merely   a   paper   promise?

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  ANN   Quon's   interesting   article   (SCM   Post,   October   7)   on   Hongkong   prisoners   in   China,   is   a   timely   reminder   that   it   would   be   unwise   to   assume   that   the   continuation   in   force,   after   1997,   of   the   provisions   of   the   International   Covenants   on   Civil   and   Political   Rights   is   an   adequate   guarantee   that   the   provisions   will   be   respected.    

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China's   ratification   of   those   covenants   might   well   give   greater   confidence.   But   it   will   still   not   be   a   guarantee.   Among   the   list   of   states   that   have   ratified   the   covenants,   according   to   Amnesty   International's   report   for   1982,   are   the   Soviet   Union,   East   Germany,   Iran   and   El   Salvador.  

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The   message   is,   as   with   so   many   other   seemingly   reassuring   features   of   the   draft   agreement,   that   as   soon   as   it   has   been   signed,   Hongkong   people   have   got   to   organise   themselves   to   make   sure   that   these   paper   promises   become   realities.

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  JOHN   WALDEN

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