HONG KONG—Hong Kong businessman, Lew Mon-hung “Dream Bear”, a former member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and former ally of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, was on Feb 29, 2016 sentenced to 18 months in prison for perverting the course of justice.
Lew helped Leung climb to the top of the political ladder, but they subsequently fell out with each other. Before ending up in prison, Lew exposed the inside story of Leung, saying that “evil begets evil.”
Lew has been surrounded by political turmoil in recent years. He was convicted on Feb 29 for perverting the course of justice by sending Leung a letter and email, asking him to stop an investigation concerning the Pearl Oriental Oil case.
After hearing the sentence, Lew appeared shocked for a few seconds, while tears fell down the cheeks of his daughter and relatives.
The judge described the case as very serious and rebuked Lew for using his relationship with Leung to end the criminal investigation against him. The judge said such actions have undermined the public’s confidence in the administration of justice, and Lew must be sentenced to immediate imprisonment.
Lew did not pay bail, but said that he would appeal.
Based on the evidence submitted by Lew in the case and media interviews, Lew had close ties with former regime leaders Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong. Lew was also associated with triad forces.
On Sept 29, 1996, Leung encountered Lew for the first time at an event about the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. In March 2010, during China’s top two annual political meetings, Leung approached Lew for support in the quest to become Chief Executive.
Lew recommended Leung to the authorities in Beijing, according to iSun affairs Weekly.
In addition, Lew supported Leung in the newspaper columns of the Oriental Daily and introduced Leung to Ma Ching-kwan, then-chairman of the Oriental Press Group, at the end of 2011.
After Leung was elected Chief Executive, Lew was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in early January 2013. Lew lost his post in the CPPCC.
Things turned sour, and Lew criticised Leung for his empty promises, which included the failure to include Lew in the CPPCC and the Executive Council.
Records show that Lew was a spy from the CCP who was tasked with penetrating Hong Kong’s business and political circles.
Besides supporting Leung’s rise to power, he was involved in duties including advancing the controversial Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law and slandering Falun Gong.
Advocate for Jiang faction
Lew Mon-hung used to speak out in favour of the Jiang Zemin’s faction.
Shortly after Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying took office in 2012, Chen Zuoer, former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and a supporter of Jiang, began to hype up criticism of “Hong Kong’s independence”.
Hong Kong businessman Lew Mon-hung immediately sang the same tune by denouncing the so-called “calls for Hong Kong’s independence” in a forum.
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit said that Lew had “ulterior motives” and wanted to use the opportunity to push for Article 23, a controversial Hong Kong anti-subversion law first proposed by Beijing in 2002.
The backdrop of the year 2012 was a transfer of power, when Xi Jinping was going to become the party’s leader. The Wang Lijun incident exposed the intention of the Jiang faction to launch a coup and the intense politics between Jiang and Xi thus began to surface.
Epoch Times obtained information that the Jiang faction also made use of its overseas spies to defend the Diaoyu Islands. Subsequently, Japan announced the nationalisation of the Diaoyu Islands, and the United States stepped in to intervene amid rising tension.
Jiang’s faction took the opportunity to incite Party elders to delay the transfer of power on the grounds of anti-Americanism, so as to continue the power of former security czar Zhou Yongkang.
Meanwhile, Lew played a key role by asking Leung Chun-ying to welcome the Diaoyu Islands activists, thus making the matter more serious, to the advantage of Jiang.
Confucius Institute
As the vice president of the Confucian Academy of Hong Kong, Lew has also penned many articles to advocate his so-called “Confucianism”.
In the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2012, Lew was in the elective committee thanks to his position in the Academy. Incited by him, all 10 elective committee members from the Academy voted for Leung.
Lau Kwai-piu, president of the Hong Kong Society of Humanities and part-time lecturer at the Philosophy Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has questioned the Academy’s background in view of its pro-communist stand. He is worried that if a temple of Confucius is built, the CCP will further use it to do what they call “maintaining stability.”
The CCP has been setting up Confucius Institutes all over the world for the last decade. Under the pretext of teaching Chinese, they export communist ideology and keep up with the strategy of “united front work.” Liu Yunshan, a member of the Jiang faction, is one of the people in charge.
Many Western countries have pointed out that the Confucius Institute is a secret agency controlled by the Chinese government. Some Canadian institutes have announced that they would end their partnership with the Confucius Institute.
Lew Mon-hung Severs Ties with Jiang Faction Too Late
In recent years, Lew Mon-hung has exposed the deeds of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and has become increasingly critical of Leung in his newspaper columns.
Lew said that he had “applauded and supported the wrong man.” However, it is believed that the dispute between Lew and Leung is basically a clash of interests, and Lew is seen as a fence-sitter.
Lew’s conviction on Feb 29, 2016 for perverting the course of public justice mirrors that of many high-ranking officials who have suffered similar fates during CCP leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.
Over 100 officials at the provincial level and above have been removed from office since the 18th National Congress of the CCP in November 2012. The majority of them belong to the Jiang faction and have been involved in persecuting the spiritual practice Falun Gong.
Though these officials might have helped with the arrest of other officials during detention, they could not escape their own investigation and imprisonment.
For example, Wang Lijun, former police chief of the city of Chongqing, exposed the scandal of Bo Xilai, former Party secretary of Chongqing. Wang was actively involved in the harvesting of organs from imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. He became physically disabled and was sentenced to imprisonment.
The arrest of Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), led to the fall of Guo Boxiong, another former vice-chairman of the CMC. Xu died of cancer, while Guo is under investigation by the authorities for corruption.
People who once enjoyed great power, such as Zhou Yongkang, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CCP, have now been imprisoned or died from illness.
The same day Lew was convicted, Holden Chow Ho-ding of the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lost the Legislative Council’s New Territories East constituent by-election, despite being endorsed by major pro-Beijing parties.
In Mainland China, a gigantic stone tablet with the writing “Jimei Bridge” by Jiang Zemin broke in two and came tumbling down, sparking off speculation that this was a sign of Jiang’s declining fortunes.
In an ancient Chinese poem it says that “When a thought arise from the heart, heaven and earth knows. If good and bad do not reap equal in returns, there must be selfishness within heaven and earth. ”
“Good and bad reap equal returns” were the words Lew said for Leung Chun-ying as he went to jail.
Translated by Su Lin. Written in English by Sally Appert.
