|
|
AUGUST 14, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 6
The
Fuse That Finally Ran Out
A
fiery protest at Hong Kong's immigration office highlights the plight
of mainlanders
By ANTHONY SPAETH
No one enjoys going to Immigration Tower, where the forms are long and
the queues longer. But if you're a foreigner and want to live in Hong
Kong, you must spend time in the anonymous skyscraper to secure a visa
and an all-important identity card. That was the intention of 23 people
who entered the glass-clad building in Hong Kong's Wanchai district last
week and made their way to the 13th floor. After a four hour-wait, the
group's impatience turned to disaster—whether it was because of anger
or despair is not yet known. Using highly flammable paint thinner, they
set off a fireball that injured 44 people, seven of them critically.
That type of violent protest is rare in Hong Kong, where political activism
is frowned upon by the Beijing-installed government. The territory's Chief
Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, told victims' families at the hospital: "We
are all very angered by what has happened. This sort of irrational behavior
is totally unacceptable." The public was stunned. "When I found out it
was an explosion set off by a group of people, I was angry because no
one does that kind of thing," says Chan Wai-yan, one of the first television
cameramen on the scene. "I've never seen so many injured before, so many
burned." The South China Morning Post denounced "fiery attacks on innocent
clerks."
|
ALSO IN TIME
|
COVER:
In a League of His Own
Tiger Woods, the golfing sensation, has owned his sport this year.
With six tournaments in the bag, he's the all-time money winner, and
his only competition comes not from peers but from himself
INDONESIA: Unrelenting Pressure
Indonesia's Wahid faces up to his political friends and foes. At least
he won't be impeached
KASHMIR: Give Peace a Chance
The Indian government opens negotiations with Kashmiri separatists
even as militant groups unleash a new wave of lethal violence in the
disputed territory
CRIME: Reel Life, Real Life
In a caper right out of a movie script, India's most wanted criminal
kidnaps one of its most famous actors
HONG KONG: Fight of Abode
Arson—or was it self-immolation?—in the immigration office
sparks new fears about would-be residents from the mainland
KOREA: Unsporting Behavior
A female basketball player's injury highlights the problem of coaches
who go overboard on physical punishment
JAPAN: Splash Down
Swimming star Suzu Chiba is left off the national Olympic team. Is
it simply because the authorities don't like her?
BEAUTY: About Face
Online and in stores, Chinese-American Susan Yee is selling cosmetics
designed specifically for Asian complexions
INNOVATORS: Edgy Science
Six up-and-coming researchers who are pushing the limits and setting
the scientific agenda for the new century
SPOTLIGHT
MILESTONES
TRAVEL WATCH:
Singapore, the United Nations of Food
|
|
|
It was
far more than that. The fire in Immigration Tower marked the explosion
of an issue that has long divided Hong Kong society. The 23 disgruntled
people were would-be migrants from the Chinese mainland. They entered
Hong Kong in the belief that they would be allowed to stay because each
has at least one parent who is a Hong Kong resident. The Basic Law, Hong
Kong's mini-constitution, says they can, and that right has been upheld
by the local judiciary. But the Tung government, worried that thousands
of mainlanders would take advantage of the law, asked Beijing's National
People's Congress to intervene. Obligingly, the npc last year reversed
a Hong Kong court ruling favorable to the migrants, ending any illusions
about the local judiciary's autonomy. Hong Kong's courts are now dealing
with petitions from thousands of potential residents looking for a loophole.
Though many people in Hong Kong are concerned that Beijing can now interpret
the Basic Law any way it pleases, some are willing to see a little compromise
on this particular issue. They too fear the effects on jobs and housing
if Hong Kong (pop. 6.5 million) sees a new wave of immigrants. Already,
mainlanders are treated with antipathy by locals who consider them uncouth,
crime-prone and lazy. The attack in Wanchai may well harden such views.
What precisely happened in Immigration Tower is still a mystery. The 23
would-be migrants entered the building at 2 p.m. and headed for room 1301,
a public area for people having trouble with their immigration applications.
According to immigration director Ambrose Lee, the same group had staged
17 protests outside his office in the past three months. The group demanded
identity cards, and staff members told them to put their requests in writing.
They were asked to leave the room but were allowed to stay in the elevator
lobby.
According to sources who have spoken to members of the group, the protesters
then made phone calls from the lobby to police and a local newspaper announcing
that a suicide would take place. Apparently two policemen arrived to investigate
but later left. Shortly before 6 p.m., the mainlanders were informed that
the office was closing. Somebody in the group shouted a suicide threat.
Then, one member took out a bottle filled with flammable liquid and doused
himself. A second person produced a cigarette lighter.
Hong Kong authorities have a slightly different version. They say the
group produced several bottles of liquid and sprinkled it around the room
and on immigration officers. At that point, the two accounts converge.
Room 1301, occupied at that moment by the 23 protesters and more than
20 officials, exploded in flames. The building's alarms and sprinklers
went off. By the time eight fire engines and 22 ambulances arrived in
Wanchai, the fire was out and the injured were writhing on the floor.
The following day, Tung's government announced a crackdown on illegal
migrants from China, though it excepted those who were petitioning the
courts to remain. "Prejudice against mainlanders will only be strengthened
after this incident," says Law Yuk-kai, director of Hong Kong's Human
Rights Monitor. "But it should also highlight the causes of it." That's
a lot to expect of a populace who, even before last week's conflagration,
didn't much like mainlanders.
—Reported by Wendy Kan/Hong Kong
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
This
edition's table of contents
TIME Asia home
Quick Scroll: More stories from TIME, Asiaweek and CNN
|