當年今日
關於我們

Life in detention: Ventus Lau takes heart from Chelsea’s win while Andrew Wan slims down

蘋果日報 2021/03/19 06:57


The rotund former lawmaker Andrew Wan is looking slimmer nearly three weeks into detention, or so it appears to a colleague, Sin Chung-kai.
He seemed to have lost weight, said Sin, who chaired the Kwai Tsing district council, where Wan also served as councilor.
“He seems to be maintaining his spirits and hanging in there,” Sin said after his visit to Wan on Thursday. “He actually told us to keep fighting and hang in there.”
They spoke of Hong Kong’s situation, and Sin also informed Wan of his bail appeal hearing next Tuesday. “He found out only today that his bail application would be heard, so he was glad about it.”
Most of the 47 pro-democracy figures charged for conspiracy to commit subversion under national security laws in Hong Kong are being locked up while awaiting trial. Some are staying at the Lai Chi Kok detention center, drawing a steady stream of loved ones to visit every day. Only 11 of the 47 are out on bail so far.
Former lawmaker and former Democratic Party chair Wu Chi-wai had a visit from district councilors Zoe Chow and Kenny Lai. Wu appeared to be in decent spirits and told them that he had received support through letters from the public, Chow said. He wanted to pass on the encouragement to everyone else on the outside, she added.
Detained activist Ventus Lau saw his girlfriend Emilia as usual. She said that he had just started getting letters.
“He said the letters were all from a week ago, so it seemed like he was in a wormhole,” Emilia said. “But it’s definitely better than having no letters — they have been really encouraging for him.”
She said he had been busy reading the letters and replying to them. He was also happy to learn that his favourite football team Chelsea FC had won 2-0 against Atletico Madrid and advanced into the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
Lau had been “folding and sticking envelopes” as work given to him while incarcerated, but he was much slower than other cellmates, who were twice his age, Emilia said. His spirits also seemed to be holding up, but his hair had grown long and shaggy “like an alpaca,” she joked.
District councilor and arbitrator Andrew Chiu had a visit from former lawmakers Shiu Ka-chun and Fernando Cheung. Shiu said that Chiu looked tired but refused to stop working. He also said that Chiu asked them to get in touch with his staff and tell them to continue doing “as much as they can” for their neighborhood. Chiu planned to continue studying and maintain his professional knowledge, Shiu said.
“[Chiu] had always been careful. It’s still hard to fathom why and to accept that he could be in violation of the national security law,” Shiu said.
The district councilor had been staying at the prison hospital as he had various health issues, including diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as an ear injury, Shiu said.
Meanwhile, barrister Lawrence Lau has been back at work in his capacity as district councilor of Sham Shui Po since securing bail on March 5. Lau announced on social media on Thursday that his long-running column at the Hong Kong Economic Journal had ended. The column was terminated by the journal.
“It has been a beautiful nine-year run, and there is much reluctance in parting ways with it. There are many people who must be thanked,” he wrote.
Click here for Chinese version
---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE
To download the latest version,
Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play