Wake up（266）

 

266

 

Victoria Harbor is located between Hong Kong Island (Central, Wanchai) and Kowloon Peninsula (Tsim Sha Tsui). It is the largest harbor in China and one of the three great harbors in the world, second only to San Francisco in the United States and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The name of Victoria Harbor comes from Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and it is also one of the three major night scenes in the world. After nightfall, the lights shine brightly, and a large-scale light show "A Symphony of Lights" will be staged at 8 o'clock every night. It is the main venue for fireworks displays in Hong Kong. Victoria Harbor is one of the most precious treasures in Hong Kong. No matter how many times you have been to Hong Kong, you will still be fascinated by her stunning elegance. It is a good choice to take a sightseeing boat or a Chinese-style sailing boat and be in the middle of the harbor to experience the vitality and dynamics of Hong Kong from a new perspective.

Take a sightseeing boat to enjoy the world-famous Victoria Harbour. From dusk to night, you can enjoy unlimited drinks on board, and enjoy the bustling scenery on both sides of Hong Kong and Kowloon at different times. Feel the unique sea scenery of Victoria Harbour, and experience the charming charm of the city known as the "Pearl of the Orient".

Take a leisurely tour of Victoria Harbour, passing through Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and North Point, and admire famous Hong Kong landmarks such as the International Finance Center, Hong Kong Island Bank of China Tower, and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center along the way; on the return journey, you can enjoy the newly completed Kai Tak Pier, Hung Hom and the diving Tsim Sha Tsui East Waterfront.

Hong Wenxuan and Shen Zhirui, two retired old professors, ran into three retired veterans on a cruise ship in Victoria Harbour.

Mr. Chu Jiang is a retired Taiwan Kuomintang veteran. Mr. Han and Mr. Song are both veterans of the Communist Army from the mainland.

Mr. Han talked about his retirement experience in mainland China to Professor Hong Wenxuan and Shen Zhirui.

Mr Han said:

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government has carried out 11 disarmaments, and the number of troops has dropped from 6.27 million when resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea to about 2 million at present. The most recent disarmament was in September 2015 at the meeting commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, announced the disarmament of 300,000 people. Mr. Han retired at that time.

According to Chinese official media, there are currently 57 million retired soldiers in China, and this number is increasing by hundreds of thousands every year. In recent years, many problems have arisen in the resettlement of veterans in cities and towns. Some units refuse to accept veterans, and the resettlement plan is difficult to implement. Some veterans said that their rights and interests have been damaged. The resettlement of veterans has always been a headache for the Chinese government.

Mr. Han said: Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, two large-scale protests by veterans broke out in China. In June 2016, China held a national conference on the resettlement of demobilized military cadres. Xi Jinping also emphasized that "the discipline of resettlement work must be strictly enforced, and no reason for refusing to accept transferred cadres from the military is allowed, so as to ensure the smooth flow of government orders from the Party Central Committee." China has implemented a policy of streamlining the military for many years, which has led to frequent problems in the resettlement of veterans. In fact, in recent years, the resettlement of veterans in urban areas has encountered unprecedented difficulties. Rejection of veterans occurs from time to time, the resettlement period is getting longer and longer, and the resettlement plan is difficult to implement, which damages the rights and interests of veterans and often leads to large-scale organized petitions and demonstrations.

Mr. Han said, I remember very clearly that it was Tuesday, October 11, 2016, and many veterans gathered outside the Bayi Building of the Ministry of National Defense in central Beijing. Most of them are middle-aged men, dressed in camouflage uniforms. I'm in it too. We veterans gathered outside the Ministry of National Defense in Beijing to demand better treatment. However, the authorities sent a large number of police to the scene to maintain order, and arranged several buses to send away the veterans gathered here.

Mr. Song, a veteran, said it was not the first time that veterans held demonstrations and petitions. In the 1980s, under Deng Xiaoping, then chairman of the Central Military Commission, the People's Liberation Army cut its troops by a million. In the 1990s, when policies such as reform and opening up reduced guaranteed government jobs, many veterans protested as they found it difficult to find stable employment. In order to give veterans better treatment, the Chinese government established the Ministry of Veterans Affairs directly under the State Council in 2018. Many veterans, however, feel the government's measures and the rhetoric they've been given won't solve real problems. They think local officials are blind to their grievances. Often, veterans are relegated to low-end jobs and, in some cases, lose their jobs as a result of their displeasure and protests. Other sources of complaints were poor medical care and smaller pensions and allowances than they thought they deserved. In addition to the above reasons, they also complain that they do not get the respect they think they deserve in society.

Mr. Song said, I am from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, and I retired from the 38th Army. I and nearly a hundred retired and transferred non-commissioned officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, collectively demonstrated in front of the city government, demanding fair treatment. After those of us veterans begged to see the mayor but failed, we stayed outside the gate of the city hall. Afterwards, some demobilized soldiers who participated in the request to see the mayor were stopped by the local police and residents' committee respectively. A retired veteran released "Zhenjiang Veteran Was Beaten, Veterans Affairs Department Can No Longer Play Deaf and Dumb!" ” notice, calling on veterans from all over the country to gather in Zhenjiang to protest rights protection.

Mr. Song said that although I participated in this protest, I don't know what happened to the ex-soldiers in the conflict with the police. After I was interviewed, the police showed me the live video in the early morning of June 20, 2018, saying that Wang Yihong fell to the ground and opened his shirt without anyone touching him, pretending to be beaten and victimized, and motioned others to record it with his mobile phone. It also distributed voice and text, "We were beaten by a group of unidentified black and evil forces. The police at the scene watched and asked for support." Later, the People's Daily reported that when the on-site staff were preparing to persuade the illegal gathering to leave according to law, the gathering used stones, bricks, wooden sticks, etc. to attack the auxiliary police and government staff, and some police were pushed into the artificial lake. Resulting in a comminuted fracture of the ankle and tibia of the right leg. The police on duty at the scene have always enforced the law in a standardized and civilized manner, maintaining calm and restraint. However, on June 23, some overseas Chinese-language media reported that the rights protection movement was suppressed by force, and three people lost contact.

Mr. Song said that after the incident, Chinese officials are also preparing to improve the treatment of veterans. On July 31, 2018, Sun Shaocheng, Minister of Veterans Affairs of China, stated that he had started drafting the Law on the Protection of Veterans and the Opinions on Strengthening the Work of Veterans in the New Era. On August 1 of the same year, the pension and subsidy standards for some retired soldiers and other special care objects will be increased. Around April 2019, a total of 9 people in the Zhenjiang incident were arrested and sentenced.

Mr. Han said that around October 5, 2018, hundreds of veterans of the People’s Liberation Army from all over China gathered in Shandong to protest, demanding that the authorities apologize for a local veteran who was beaten for petitioning and improve the treatment of veterans. Videos on social media showed at one point a skirmish between demonstrators and police. In order to avoid the aggravation of the situation, the police also set up checkpoints at railway stations and roads in several transit cities such as Beijing and Qingdao. The veterans' protest in Pingdu, Shandong Province, China once attracted attention on the Internet, but Chinese media rarely reported it. On December 9, China Central Television rarely broadcast a nearly 7-minute report on the Pingdu incident in "News Network". Defined the incident as a "serious violent crime" and pointed out that 34 people were injured and 10 people were arrested in the incident. Chinese officials said the protesters had "complicated backgrounds" and "very few people with criminal records" participated in assaulting police and smashing vehicles. CCTV also broadcast multiple telephone recordings of suspected protest participants. Some people said that "killing one person counts as one, and killing a few more shocks the whole country." Some people from other provinces and cities arrived at the square of the People's Hall in Pingdu City one after another, gathering about 300 people. During the period, the promoters "incited and instigated violent crimes" through on-site speeches, WeChat groups, etc. The initiators also bought more than a hundred wooden sticks and 16 dry powder fire extinguishers, sprayed dry powder on the police on duty at the scene, and smashed the windows of the police bus with wooden sticks. The incident injured 34 policemen and the masses.

Analysts believe that the repeated occurrences of veterans' rights protection are "historical problems" formed along with China's reform and opening up and military reform. However, the CCTV report never specified what the veterans wanted to join the protest.

The People's Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, commented that a very small number of criminals under the banner of "retired soldiers" disrupted social order, "trampled on the country's laws and regulations" and damaged the image of retired soldiers. The actions of relevant departments "have received the understanding and support of the majority of officers, soldiers and retired soldiers."

It is worth noting that before this, many veterans told BBC Chinese that the reason for the protest was that "a veteran was beaten on the way to Beijing to appeal", so they came to express their support, but the CCTV report refuted this claim, saying that many people He deliberately "touched porcelain" on the way to petition, but was not injured after being checked by the hospital.

Mr. Han said that when the veterans protested, they held the national flag, wore camouflage uniforms, and shouted the number. At first glance, you might think that a military training was going on on the main road of Pingdu City, but in fact, it was a military training that lasted for many days. veterans' protests. After the protests broke out on October 5, a large number of police officers isolated and blocked the veterans who took to the streets to protest, and small-scale conflicts broke out at the scene. In one video, the police tried to disperse the crowd; but another video showed that some veterans also attacked the police with sticks, fire extinguishers and other tools.

Mr. Song said that after I retired from the 38th Army, I knew that many veterans of the "38th Army" were in financial difficulties just like me. Gao Hongyi, from Qingdao, Shandong Province, served in the 38th Army of the People's Liberation Army in the 1970s for five years, and was then assigned to the car team of the Commercial Bureau of the original unit, responsible for driving and repairing cars. In 2001, the state-owned enterprise was restructured, and the car team of the Commercial Bureau After becoming a private enterprise, Gao Hongyi refused to terminate the contract. Although the deducted two-year wages were repaid through legal proceedings, he could no longer receive wages, insurance and benefits, and was forced to embark on the road of rights protection.

Gao Hongyi has become a thorn in the side of the authorities because of his many petitions in recent years. He went to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Qingdao to ask for files and go through the retirement procedures, but he received bad news: the Qingdao Enterprise Trusteeship Center Committee has decided to expel him from the party. The committee listed that Gao Hongyi expressed his appeals in various ways in key and sensitive areas of Beijing in order to vent his personal dissatisfaction and create social influence from 2011 to 2017, and made troubles in the name of letters and visits. The committee condemned Gao Hongyi as a member of the Communist Party for seriously violating party rules and discipline. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".

Gao Hongyi said: "I used to be a soldier. The 38th Army is Chairman Mao's Yulin Army and Lin Biao's old army. I don't insist on public ownership anymore. Private ownership is fine, but private ownership should also be guaranteed by law." "I am responsible Report to the central government. This is stipulated in the party constitution. Party members have the right to report problems directly to the central government. You use such indecent and despicable methods to deprive me of my rights. I am an excellent and responsible party member. The Party Central Committee reported that it did not expect such a result in the end.”

Gao Hongyi is currently relying on more than 800 yuan a month for subsistence allowances and subsidies to make ends meet. He said he has no regrets about the petition. He can accept expulsion from the party, but the problem is that his retirement benefits have been deprived in disguise.

Mr. Song's other comrade-in-arms of the 38th Army, Chen Feng, is a disabled soldier. Chen Feng expressed sympathy for Gao Hongyi's experience. Chen Feng said: "The soldiers of the '38th Army' defend and encircle the Party Central Committee. The family is in trouble and cannot receive fair treatment. It is reasonable to go to defend our rights and petition. Hate to the bone."

Chen Feng defended his rights for more than 20 years because his family's land and houses were forcibly demolished, and he was imprisoned twice. He described himself as having a long way to go. Chen Feng said: "I bought government land, and the government cheated me. In order to protect my rights, I went to sea. I have less than 15 years of service. I have reached retirement age, but because of the difference of 1 year and 7 months, I have less than 15 years of service. To It has been half a year now, and I haven’t helped me with my pension, and I can’t get my pension.”

Mr. Song said: In recent years, veterans in mainland China have taken to the streets to defend their rights from time to time. In October 2018, at the Two Sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the National People's Congress passed the State Council's institutional reform plan, trying to deal with veterans' complaints through the establishment of the Veterans Affairs Department. Although the central government established the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, hoping to do a good job in veterans' complaints and visits, some analysts have questioned whether the relevant departments can play a role, and estimate that due to the impact of the economic environment on the mainland, it will become more and more difficult to meet the demands of veterans. Veterans from Shanxi died unexpectedly, and their bodies were hung outside the Petition Bureau. The veterans of the Vietnam War were beaten and injured for protecting collective property, and the government appeases the local gangsters. Veterans were sentenced, dissidents were banned, and Human Rights Day became a dark day in Hunan. Such online news can be seen all the time on the Internet.

Take a sightseeing boat tour of the world-famous Victoria Harbour,

Hong Wenxuan and Shen Zhirui, two retired old professors, talked with three retired veterans on a cruise ship in Victoria Harbor. Mr. Han and Mr. Song, mainland veterans, talked about the unfair treatment of veterans. This made the two professors' hearts rush and it was difficult to calm down.

Mr. Chu Jiang is a retired Taiwan Kuomintang veteran. They are all veterans of the Communist Army from the mainland.