A time capsule buried 15 years ago in Central to mark the 1997 handover has been unearthed - and it shows that Hongkongers' fear of political oppression has barely changed.
Among the items shown by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department yesterday was a face mask with the words 'political censorship' written on it. It was contributed by Stanley Ng Wing-fai of the Democratic Party, who wore the mask amid the tense political climate in Hong Kong before the handover.
Ng noted that freedom of speech was as contentious an issue as ever.
'It saddens me when people's rights are violated, especially when there is an invisible hand orchestrating everything,' he said. 'Our society needs to move forward.'
Ng was one of 35 members of the now-defunct Urban Council who buried items in the time capsule in June 1997 - ahead of the city's return to Chinese sovereignty on July 1 - next to City Hall, where they held their meetings.
It was to have been unearthed five years ago on the 10th anniversary of the handover. But the council was dissolved in 2000, and the capsule was all but forgotten.
Credit goes to Democrat lawmaker Fred Li Wah-ming, a former council member who in October pushed for the recovery of the capsule, raising the issue with Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing.