程翔

Put In A Fair Word for Ching Cheong -
An Appeal Letter to the National People’s Congress HKSAR Deputies and
the Chinese People’s Consultative Committee Conference HKSAR Delegates
From the Ching Cheong Incident Concern Group 6 January 2006

Dear Honorable NPC HKSAR Deputies and CPPCC HKSAR Delegates,

As revealed by the HKSAR Chief Executive Mr. Tsang Yam Kuen after his Beijing trip last week, Ching Cheong’s case would be transferred to the Prosecution Department later this week.

This is the first official news on the case since last August. We believe it might have been the result of the lobbying efforts of numerous people for Ching Cheong, including the HKSAR NPC deputy Mr. Allen Lee Pengfei who had written to the NPC Standing Committee Chairman Mr. Wu Bangguo last December. To all of them, we extend our sincere gratitude.

Ching Cheong has been widely known to be a patriot of China, his mother country, and Hong Kong, and has fervently promoted communication across the Strait in an effort to contribute towards the country’s peaceful unification. His unequivocal position is well known in Hong Kong, Singapore, and on both sides of the Strait. We have been appealing to the relevant government departments in charge of the case to fully recognize Ching Cheong’s contribution to the country and to consider the use of different yardsticks under “One Country, Two Systems” so as to arrive at a more accommodating assessment of his case. This would greatly contribute to building a harmonious community in Hong Kong.

Ching Cheong has practised journalism faithfully for over 30 years, and has demonstrated persistence in telling the truths of what he knew; and we believe that most of our NPC deputies and CPPCC delegates have known of him and his work. As his case is entering a critical stage, we appeal to you to discharge your duties to reflect the views of the local citizens and to uphold justice and fairness by putting in a fair word for Ching Cheong to the relevant departments in the hope that it may lead to a reasonable resolution of the case, and creating a multi-win situation for Ching Cheong and his family, for the Hong Kong community, for the Central Government, and for the relationship across the Strait.