Plum Blossoms

Alex Ho, the Democratic District Councillor held by Dongguan Public Security for nearly six months for soliciting a prostitute, made his first public appearance yesterday. He admitted that on the night of the incident, a unfamiliar female visited him at about 3:00 AM and they were in his room by themselves for several hours, but emphasized that they merely chatted and did not have sex, and he certainly did not pay for sex. He insisted that he did not solicit any prostitutes, and that the mainland public security detained him unfairly and unreasonably, severely violating his human rights.

Alex Ho, visibly affected by his liver problems, gave a statement yesterday, emphasizing that he did not soliciting a prostitute in the mainland as alleged by the public security, and that while being held, he was under pressure, tempted, and lacked an attorney, and was finally forced to confess to “soliciting a prostitute in Dongguan” and make a videotape “repentance.” He deeply believes that “no matter how I explain and defend myself, it will be difficult to eliminate the suspicions of some people, and even harder to overturn the public security's case.”

Ho states that his wife encouraged him to confess, in exchange for an early return to Hong Kong. He also detailed how public security psychologically abused him while in jail.

Ho did not explain the process of his arrest throughout his statement. When reported asked why did a woman come in the middle of the night, why the two were by themselves in him room at three in the morning, and why the evidence publicized by the public security include underwear and condoms, he said that he did not wish to explain further. Ho said that the photographs were taked by the public security, and reporters should ask them about that; as for the woman's late visit, Ho says he does not know if it was a mere coincidence or was arranged.

He recalled that he went that day to discuss some business, and left the karaoke bar at about eleven to twelve at night to sleep. He did not mention his departure to anyone, and he turned off his mobile phone once he returned to his room. Yet he received a call at about 3:00 AM from a man that asked for a woman. Ho said she was not there and hung up; within five minutes, the doorbell rang, and at the door was a DJ that he had met several months earlier. Although they were not familiar with each other, he invited her inside to avoid staying at the doorway.

However, when reporters repeatedly ask what he was doing with the woman from that time to 5:00 AM when public security arrested him, Ho did not want to discuss further, emphasizing that he did not want to give his wife too much stress, and denied having an affair with the woman.

As reporters relentlessly asked whether they had kissed or touched intimately, Ho reiterated that he did not have sex with that woman, not that night or before. As for the testimony of the woman, which stated they had had sex halfway but stopped, and whether this counts as having sex, he repeated that they did not have sex.

When asked why he did not appeal if he was being framed, Ho explained that he no longer had the energy for the long tug-of-war. He also said that even had he asked the Democratic Party to appeal for him, it was unlikely that the DP would be of much help.

Also, the Dongguan government and public security department states that they have no response to Alex Ho's statements at this time.

As if the story of a middle-aged man innocently chatting with a woman in a hotel room in the middle of the night wasn't strange enough, Ho has developed cirrhosis of the liver and psoriasis, which he blames on mainland authorities withholding his hepatitis medication. In the middle of the press conference, as Ho discussed his health, he lifted his shirt, showing his skin condition.

I think it's fair to say that this story has probably reached its end. On the question of what happened on the night of Ho's arrest, I think that Ho's own statements did little to clear his name, and I find the authorities' version of the story considerably more plausible than Ho's. As for the DP's initial attempt to use this to suggest mainland interference, their political opportunitism and sincere paranoia tarnished the party's image at a critical point in the LegCo campaign. But all this pales in comparison to the obvious mistreatment Ho received while incarcerated: there is almost no way that an originally healthy middle-aged man can become so sick so quickly without getting his meds, and it is impossible that Ho would willingly make himself so sick. Nothing good can be said for the officials who allowed (or caused) this to happen.

PS: EastSouthWestNorth has finally uploaded the translations of the various Chinese media articles on this story. A blast to read, especially if you can recall the days when Lewinskygate was still actually fun.