Chapter 18 third chapter

On December 13, 2005, the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference" was held in Hong Kong. This was the first ministerial conference held by the World Trade Organization in China, and it was also the largest international conference held in the eight years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Around the beginning of November, I learned such a piece of information in Hong Kong: "Since the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference will be held in Hong Kong soon, the high-end hotel rooms in Hong Kong are almost sold out." I was overjoyed, and something excited immediately I jumped up and down, thinking that this is good news, and cheering for the "Ministerial Conference" in advance, my family will definitely be interested!So I asked the webmaster for instructions, and the webmaster thought it was good, and immediately instructed me to get in touch with the relevant department immediately, and hurry up to interview as soon as possible.

I opened the business card folder and found the most suitable person - the director-general of the Hong Kong Hotels Association. In January 2005, I interviewed him for the ten-episode feature film "CEPA's First Anniversary".As a result, the phone call was made, and the director-general was as polite as ever, but when he heard that the interview was for this matter, the answer immediately became stumbling: "Interview? I'm in Hong Kong now, but how should I say this?" ..." Why can't I say it? How many times has the "WTO Ministerial Conference" been held in the past?Hong Kong was selected for the 6th time, which shows that Hong Kong has the ability, reputation and international status, which is a good thing!But the Director-General was in a dilemma: "A good thing is a good thing, but good and bad are relative. Wherever the previous ministerial meetings were held, there was trouble. Even bleeding to death!" I quickly figured out the real intention of the director general, because it was too sudden, and I couldn't turn my head for a while.In the end, the director-general saw that I couldn’t understand it, so he simply made an analogy—"Dynamite bag! Yes, you understand why Hong Kong people don’t like to accept this meeting? Who would want to put the dynamite bag in their arms? hug?!"

I really didn't expect that the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference" would become a "dynamite bag" for Hong Kong people?Didn't the government declare a long time ago: Warmly welcome, go all out, and will definitely cooperate actively? Putting down the phone, my judgment lost direction for a while. After careful study of the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Meeting", I realized that the main purpose of this meeting is to continue to maintain the momentum of the "Doha Round Negotiations" and lay the foundation for the conclusion of the negotiations in 2006. , the core topic involved in the conference is agriculture, which is also the focus of disputes between rich and poor countries all over the world.According to the estimates of the World Bank: If the "Doha Round of Negotiations" can be successfully completed, people can bring an annual growth of 300 billion US dollars to the global economy in the next ten years, and can also reduce the global poor population by about 140 million in 2015.However, it is such a "good thing" that the world's "poor countries" and "rich countries" have become incompatible in the past few years. Both the "Seattle" and "Cancun" conferences failed miserably on this issue. At the end of 2005, if the conference is to be held in Hong Kong again, 5,800 representatives from 149 countries or regions, 2,167 members of non-governmental organizations, and more than 3,000 journalists will gather in Hong Kong. What?In the event of a resurgence of conflicts at the General Assembly, the whole of Hong Kong is likely to fall into chaos, and the citizens may suffer huge economic losses if they demand it at that time!

Well, don't do anything about my news, the "dynamite package" seems to be really groundless. In the blink of an eye, the date of the WTO meeting in Hong Kong is getting closer and closer, and more and more horrific news spread in the society. Finally, as the opening day approached, thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park to rally and protest.Over the next few days, anti-WTO forces from various countries, especially South Korean farmers, really started organized and strategic large-scale demonstrations in Hong Kong. For me, a reporter from the mainland, I have never heard of it before. !

"Han Nong" claims that the globalization of world trade will only exploit the interests of farmers and benefit developed countries.In the parade, they wore cloth belts on their heads and desperately shouted slogans: "oppose the opening of rice imports" and "strongly protest the WTO". Some people even appeared on the streets of Hong Kong carrying coffins. On the afternoon of the 13th, 50 "Hannon" protesters suddenly jumped into the sea in Hong Kong. The highest temperature in Hong Kong that day was only 18 degrees. A lot of people watched. Although the "Han Nong" who really came to Hong Kong to "make trouble" has repeatedly stated to Hong Kong citizens that they will try their best to adopt a "peaceful way" in their demonstrations and protests in Hong Kong this time, and they do not want to cause trouble to Hong Kong citizens, but in order to ensure "WTO The "Sixth Ministerial Conference" was carried out safely and smoothly. The Hong Kong police still mobilized an unprecedentedly large police force. In addition to the anti-riot police, almost 9,000 police officers were mobilized. Even the students who were still training at the police academy put on police uniforms in advance. Going to the streets to maintain order - Needless to say, the security work of the main venue of the Wanchai Convention and Exhibition Center, the entrance and exit are "five steps, one station, ten steps, one post" can be described as strictly guarded; a large number of "iron horses" (encircling barriers) are also placed outside the venue, All are firmly connected with thick iron wire.In addition, in order to prevent emergencies, the Hong Kong police also arranged police officers equipped with heavy guns to be on guard at the airport, and there were also speedboats of the "Water Police Ship" and the "Flying Tigers" at the sea, which circled the Hong Kong Island day and night. patrol.

On December 12, Chinanews quoted a report from the latest issue of Hong Kong's "Bauhinia" magazine. This article analyzed: In the eyes of the Hong Kong police, the complexity of defending the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference" has already "Far beyond the 1997 comeback celebration". Since the police cannot use force on the streets against the parades that have been applied for in advance, the main means to prevent the crowds of demonstrations from hitting the main venue of the conference is to spray pepper powder. The relevant streets in Hong Kong are sticky everywhere in those few days , People who don't understand what's going on think it's "April Fool's Day" and everyone is playing a prank.However, as the protests escalated day by day, some areas in Hong Kong had to be closed under martial law. The normal life of citizens was disrupted, tourism was affected, and the "Individual Visit" was almost "extinct". The restaurant was especially on the verge of a disaster. Someone in the business described: "The situation in those few days was even worse than during the SARS period." A company that sells military supplies even said: During the meeting, their best-selling item was unexpected. It was a helmet. In a short period of time, all the stocks were scoured by the media.

What does the media in Hong Kong want "helmets" for?Things are not obvious?Journalists may also encounter dangers when they take to the streets to conduct interviews. I have also been to Wan Chai several times during the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference", but since I didn't have a "helmet" and I was not assigned any rigid interview tasks in advance, I didn't need to get too close.On December 13, 2005, from the beginning of the conference to the end of the 18th, Hong Kong TV broadcasted live broadcasts on the streets 24 hours a day, and newspapers had eye-catching headlines every day. Struggling with Death" - "Police Pepper Spray and Shield Fight Back" - "Han Nong Moves the Citizens with Three Steps and One Knock" - "Exhibition of Police Elite Shield Array" - "Han Nong Announces WTO Demonstration Upgrade on Saturday "——"Water Ghost Team Divers Search Wan Chai Ferry Pier Area"——"Chong Tunnel Closed Hong Kong Island Traffic Chaos"—"More than 50 Bus Lines Affected"—"Han Nongtu Failed to Overthrow a Police Car"——" Thugs broke through the defense line and broke into the exhibition"-"Tear gas bombs suppressed the paralysis of Hong Kong Island"...

Things have developed to this point, it should be said that I did not expect it, I "unpredicted", but Hong Kong people thought of everything from "before it started". Why is the director-general of the association unwilling to accept my interview? Is the "explosive package" he mentioned alarmist?I admire: Hong Kong people are shrewd after all, shrewdness is pragmatic, and they have a steelyard in their hearts when and what happens.Although the government has mobilized all protection measures, and finally ensured the smooth conclusion of the "Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference" in Hong Kong, no one died, and no one committed suicide, but the price paid by Hong Kong society is not small. It is also reasonable for the WTO to complain.

After this "pepper war", I have been thinking that journalists in the mainland rarely have the opportunity to encounter such a big international incident. belong to?What kind of animal is this society?Alas, the answer seems to be there at this moment, just like "a lotus coming out of water"-economy, a beautiful "economic animal".