Police to speak to Tsang over assault investigation
Police are to question Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as part of an investigation into claims that he was assaulted and wounded by a League of Social Democrats protester on Tuesday.
The incident has turned into a political firestorm, providing an opportunity for the authorities to rally support and turn heat on the political radicals - whose increasingly violent protests have brought a strong reaction from the pro-establishment camp.
Four major chambers of commerce in Hong Kong yesterday issued a joint statement expressing their concerns and condemning the incident, calling it a threat to Hong Kong as a rational and open society.
Officials in Beijing also cranked up pressure on the radicals. A day after the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued a strongly worded statement condemning the incident, Dr Peng Qinghua - director of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong - yesterday called for swift punishment.
Hong Kong police, however, have so far failed to come up with hard evidence to support the allegation that league protestor Steve Wong Chun-kit, 25, wounded Tsang during a chaotic protest near the entrance to the Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui on Tuesday.
Wong is under investigation for common assault and is now on police bail.
Investigators have gone through the CCTV footage of the incident but could not find conclusive evidence that Wong hit Tsang.
Police now will invite the chief executive to make a statement.
'The chief executive is the key witness in this common assault case,' a person familiar with the incident said. Tsang will fly to Beijing today to attend the annual National People's Congress. He will return to Hong Kong on Monday.
People who were near Tsang at the time, including officials, bodyguards and protestors, will also be asked to provide information.
It is understood that while CCTV cameras did capture the moment when the protesters charged at the chief executive, they could see only a big crowd of people and it remains unclear who actually hit Tsang, a person familiar with the case said.
With or without hard evidence, the pro-establishment camp has seized the opportunity and cried foul.
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, condemned the incident.
'We cannot accept any form of violence and strongly condemn physical confrontation as a means of expression,' the groups said.
'We call for a united stance from the larger community to uphold Hong Kong's core values by supporting and facilitating rational discussions on public affairs, and to maintain Hong Kong's image in the international community.'
The four chambers also expressed concerns about inappropriate behaviour by 'some legislators' in the Legislative Council in recent years.
Peng joined the chorus of condemnation. Speaking in Beijing, he said: 'Hong Kong is a civil society under the rule of law ... Such behaviour threatens safety and disrupts public order and is unacceptable in a civil society. A government should, at any time, listen to citizens' opinions and actively respond to citizens' demands I believe the special administrative region government will pay attention to this and strengthen its work in this regard.'
