Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho calls on Hong Kong police to arrest five opposition legislators and several ‘unknown foreigners’ for inciting protesters

A controversial pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong has called on police to arrest five opposition legislators and a number of “foreigners” seen at recent clashes during anti-government protests.

Junius Ho Kwan-yiu – who has recently become a hate figure for pro-democracy residents – claimed the people played a “very important role” in the violent exchanges.

Ho’s claims were quickly dismissed by the pan-democrats as unsubstantiated.

The lawmakers he named on Friday were Democratic Party members Lam Cheuk-ting, Roy Kwong Chun-yu and Andrew Wan Siu-kin, independent Eddie Chu Hoi-dick and Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai, who were said to be repeatedly spotted on the ground.

“I urge the police force to take decisive action in arresting and prosecuting them,” Ho said, accusing the lawmakers of committing crimes such as incitement to public nuisance, unlawful assembly and obstructing police officers in their duties.

During a press conference at which he refused to take questions, Ho showed pictures of what he called “unknown foreigners” whom he accused of starting a fire at clashes in Sheung Wan last Sunday, as well as filming and “commanding” the crowd with hand signals at a Sha Tin protest on July 14.

The man in Sha Tin was earlier identified as a foreign worker who regularly posts on Twitter, under the name Hong Kong Hermit. He clarified he was merely scratching his belly at the time.

In a written reply, Hong Kong Hermit, who has lived in the city for more than a decade, said he was only a Hongkonger exercising his rights.

It was insulting for Ho to imply the protesters needed the “guidance of superior white people to get anything done”, he added.

He said his employer was worried about his safety after the pro-Beijing lawmaker had placed a target on his back, adding he would seek legal advice.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam said he was only at the scene to mediate and defuse tensions between protesters and police officers.

“All this could be clearly seen from the clips as well as the live videos. Ho should show the evidence to substantiate his claims, if there is any,” he said, adding the young protesters on the front line had made their own calls.

He also slammed Ho for diverting attention from his links with the men who attacked protesters and some passers-by at Yuen Long railway station on July 21. Ho was filmed shaking hands with men in white T-shirts accused of being involved in the violence.

“It appears Ho found a belly-scratching foreigner has committed a more serious crime than gangsters who attacked civilians with rods,” he said.

Wan also hit out at Ho’s “hilarious, misleading and ironic” accusations, which he said would do no good to society.

“We are trying to be a buffer at the protests. We have called on the officers not to exercise excessive force and asked for more time for the protesters to leave,” Wan said. “Our presence has in fact reduced the scale and the area of the clashes.”

Wan added they would consider legal action against the “libellous” remarks made by pro-establishment politicians over the previous two months.

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Lam said Ho should not regard all non-Chinese Hong Kong residents as foreign agents.

Meanwhile, Ho distanced himself from recent death threats Chu said he received from triads.

Chu claimed the threats surfaced after Ho accused him and his supporters of being involved in the desecration of Ho’s parents’ graves on July 23, and told him he had two options – choose the path of the living or dead.

Ho said he was also worried about his own personal safety.

Separately, about 20,000 people signed a petition started by the Labour Party urging the government to revoke Ho’s title as a Justice of the Peace.

Party chairman Steven Kwok Wing-kin argued Ho, given his links with the alleged Yuen Long attackers, was unfit to hold the position.