A row between tycoon Li Ka-shing and the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese over a priest comparing him to the devil took a new turn yesterday. The holding company Li controls denied it had exerted pressure on the church's leaders and said it had no plan to sue anyone.
But Father Thomas Law Kwok-fai stood firm behind his comment yesterday. The senior Catholic priest said it was the prayers of poor people, rather than rich men, that would be accepted by God.
'I have nothing to say about the incident,' Law said last night. 'But I only hope there will be more angels in Hong Kong. God hears the prayers of the poor people, but in our city the general public has no voice while the rich people do.'
During a Halloween function over the weekend, Law likened Li to the devil in a media interview.
He was criticising property developers for relying on unfair construction and sales tactics to maximise their profits at the expense of buyers.
Gerald Ma, head of the corporate strategy unit of Li's flagship Cheung Kong (Holdings), was later reported by a Chinese-language newspaper to have pressured the diocese when he telephoned vicar-general Michael Yeung Ming-cheung. In a letter to Yeung yesterday, Ma, who is a Catholic and a member of the finance committee of Caritas, the diocese's social service arm, denied he was trying to pressure the church on behalf of his boss.
He said he called Yeung as a Catholic to express his 'disappointment and helplessness' towards Law's comments, adding Li and his company 'respect freedom of speech'. But he also stressed anyone would have to be cautious with their words and deeds.