Friends from Apple Daily sent me a message “Jimmy in custody” with a crying emoji. He should be very proud of his staffers being so supportive of him. It can be imagined the same message from a staff member about his boss of some institutions will be attached with a smiling emoji! There is only one conviction of the staff at Apple Daily united as one to pull through the awful plight: They who strive for excellence in the quality of this paper, which is the most hands-on persistence, root for themselves and others.

One of the ways Ma Ngok, a bookman, endures it is to manage to contain his sentiments, grit his teeth and pen the book 《反抗的共同體——二○一九香港反送中運動》(The Community of Resistance——2019 Anti-Extradition Amendment Bill Movement) and get it published. Apart from examining the movement in separate themes in 400 pages, the book, most importantly, documents every single significant event precisely and concisely from the prelude of the 6.9 demonstration to the siege laid to Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The incidents are also footnoted with sources of data for reference in the future and for people who aspire after the particulars or to cross-check various records. Ordinary citizens are welcome to judge the movement by the in-depth study made by the scholar. In fact, putting information in order and preserving archives is what Hong Kong is now being in dire need of. Ma Ngok has done a good job of paramount importance for our society. Everyone should buy a copy of it and finish reading it right away, then keep it in good condition for future use.

Reading Ma’s work, I awoke to the fact I had not called to mind for quite some time a lot of major events that happened one after another. If I had not been reminded, I would almost have failed to recollect them, and their profound import. Besides, plenty of crucial investigative reports are also compiled in the book on a list for easy crosscheck. Despite not being valuable to everyone, some first-hand data are precious for me. Thanks to Professor Ma, the information saves me an awful lot of time and trouble doing research, and if it is not put away well promptly, it will probably be lost in the future. Good examples can be found in “the chart about prosecutions and sentencings following the Umbrella Movement”(table 6), including the nine Occupy Central advocates, 9.26 recapture of the Civic Square(East Wing Forecourt of the Central Government Offices）, the strike against the LegCo chamber, etc. Any examination and review in the future of the role, orientation and function of the court, and their impact on the rule of law have to be founded on accurate, objective and comprehensive information. Everyone is free to put forward their viewpoints, but only opinions based on and acknowledging facts can help us find a way out, empowering us not only to keep hanging on but also persevere in doing so with hopes and a destination in mind. Even a simple demand for “the facts resurfaced” cannot hinge on predominant opinions of some people, despite being presented sternly out of a sense of justice.

The reason why we hang on by the eyebrows is we crave for the facts totally resurfaced and justice manifested one day in the future. To keep the evidence intact, the work needs to be done in no time. After the 1967 riots, the Hong Kong government put together a detailed report attached with many data charts. Notwithstanding our right to query its impartiality, the significance of the factual report on the occurrence for our understanding of it is not reduced. Anyone who is to pen for “the Fishball Revolution” and the anti-extradition movement has to study the report on the 1967 riots.

As far as I believe, besides Ma Ngok, who engages in documenting, a lot of people—— Jimmy Lai, staffers at Apple Daily, the three imprisoned youngsters, the Good Neighbor North District Church and the youths in exile——are struggling on in their own ways respectively.

(Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee is a barrister, writer and columnist in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995-1997; 1998-2012.)

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