Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa has suggested recently that those who commemorate June 4 should put aside such 'baggage', for after eight years people should 'look forward' and consider the progress that China has made.
I find such comments offensive and incongruent with the other things that he has said and tried to promote. An atrocity is an atrocity no matter how many years have passed.
The South Korean government recently apologised for the Kwangju crackdown 17 years ago, and some of those responsible have been put on trial.
Would Mr Tung have advised the victims of the incident that they should have set this 'baggage' aside? Commemorating past events do not entail ignoring changes that have taken place since then. If anything, they serve as powerful reminders of the ideals that should be incorporated into our vision of the future.
While Mr Tung has repeatedly emphasised the need to implement Confucian values in Hong Kong, he should not forget that such values also call for a responsible government that displays moral virtues.
Such commemoration activities remind us of the standards that governments should live up to, and instead of criticising these activities, our chief executive should actively affirm the values they embody.
DR JOE LAU Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy The University of Hong Kong I am a missionary who first arrived in Hong Kong at the end of 1972. In the past few years, I have often been asked two questions. Will you stay in Hong Kong after July 1? Are you afraid of the future? My answers have always been: yes, I will stay, if I am allowed to; no, I am not afraid, because I do not believe that what happened in China in the 1950s and during the Cultural Revolution will happen in Hong Kong.