China Daily (Hong Kong)

Resurrecti­on of ‘dead protester’ buries all rumors against police

- Yang Sheng The author is a current affairs commentato­r. The views do not necessaril­y reflect those of China Daily.

OThe return to life of “Hon Bo-sun” from fictional martyrdom not only proves the opposition camp comprises habitual liars who cannot be trusted, but also serves as a reminder that such political deceit will never go away simply because it has been exposed as fake.

f all the rumors fabricated during the “black revolution”, the claim that several men were killed by police inside Prince Edward MTR station on Aug 31 last year has to be the most terrifying one. The so-called “8.31” incident not only destroyed social harmony, but also escalated street violence to new, bloody highs. It is fair to say that rumors related to the “8.31 horror story” were instrument­al in sustaining the “black revolution”. Perpetuati­ng those rumors was one of the opposition camp’s key tactics to sustain the anti-government campaign last year.

One year on, many “8.31” fans woke up to the revelation­s by a man in the United Kingdom via a video on social media, who apparently is “Hon Bo-sun”, a rioter said to have been killed by police inside the Prince Edward station last year, that he had fled Hong Kong and kept a low profile for the sake of the “black revolution”. Suddenly, a key emotional stimulant that had kept their hatred for the central authoritie­s, the SAR government and particular­ly the Hong Kong police was proved fake. Also gone with those rumors was the credibilit­y of the wild, groundless accusation­s against the longwithdr­awn extraditio­n law amendment bill that was made an excuse for starting the yearlong violence, destructio­n and social unrest.

“Hon”, whose real name is Wong Mau-chun, appeared last week in a video from his residence in the UK and declared he was very much alive, obviously, adding that he’s in contact with a group of pro-independen­ce activists. During an interview, he revealed a jaw-dropping secret: The opposition leaders knew he was alive but allowed him to flee and hide to keep the accusation­s against the police “valid”.

Hon’s “coming back from the dead” proves at least two points.

First, the “8.31” incident is a conspiracy with fake deaths to justify the black-shirts’ criminal acts. According to Wong, his friends knew he did not die in the “8.31” incident, but they kept their mouth shut. There was also a bunch of “dissident lawyers” fighting for “justice” for him. It is safe to say the whole opposition camp knew about the truth of the lies. The reason they kept the scam a secret for more than a year was to save face on the one hand, and smear the Hong Kong Police Force as well as the SAR government on the other.

Such tactics were inspired by “martyrs” in the “color revolution­s” in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, including victims of the shootings in the capital of Ukraine, students killed at Liberation Square in Cairo, Egypt and a jobless man “electrocut­ed” in Tunisia. The stories that triggered wanton street violence went on for months and became a fixture in all “color revolution­s” around the world.

Second, the opposition camp is likely scouting for another “Hon” to keep the flames of hatred alive. The “black revolution” is designed to help the opposition seize Hong Kong’s governing power, which means the external forces would not allow the opposition camp to stop even if it wants to. That is why Wong admitted that he is pretty much “dead already” — it won’t be long before a “Cheung Bo-sun” or “Lee Bo-sun” appears in some headlines.

Just like activists Ray Wong Toiyeung, Alan Li Tung-sing and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Wong Mau-chun is a pawn doing certain foreign powers’ bidding for a fee. What motivated his confession was apparently the fear of becoming “cheap” in the foreign powers’ eyes and being readily replaced like a used tire.

Members of the public in Hong Kong are better off to ignore any “touching story” churned out by the opposition rumor mill hereafter.

The return to life of “Hon Bosun” from fictional martyrdom not only proves the opposition camp comprises habitual liars who cannot be trusted, but also serves as a reminder that such political deceit will never go away simply because it has been exposed as fake. For young people who still believe someone was killed at the Prince Edward station last year, the confession by Wong should be a valuable lesson.

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