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Cantopop star Hins Cheung has said he will serve as a mentor in a Security Bureau programme aimed at rehabilitating former 2019 protesters.
Cantopop singer Hins Cheung. Photo: Hins Cheung, via Facebook.Chinese state-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po published an interview with Cheung on Saturday, in which the singer said he used to be “ignorant” and “rash.”
He also apologised for being “swept up in the social atmosphere” when he supported the pro-democracy movement.
“Regarding some of my past remarks, which were inappropriate and caused people to question how I view my feelings and attitude towards the country and Hong Kong, which I care deeply about, I sincerely apologise,” the 45-year-old was quoted as saying.
Born in Guangzhou, Cheung previously made comments supporting social movements in Hong Kong, including the national education protests in 2012 and the Umbrella Movement in 2014.
Cheung is now volunteering as a mentor for a rehabilitation programme run by the Security Bureau aimed at helping young people, he told the newspaper.
Cantopop singer Hins Cheung. Photo: Hins Cheung, via Facebook.The singer said that in the coming month, he would be a guest speaker for the programme and also planned to lead youths on trips to mainland China during the first half of the year.
“I hope that by participating in the Security Bureau’s programme, the doubts about me in society can be dispelled,” he said.
After the Wen Wei Po interview was published, local media reported that Cheung unfollowed more than 1,000 accounts on Instagram, including those of Cantopop singers Keung To and Joey Yung, as well as his own fan club.
‘Remorse’
For the past one or two years, the bureau has been running a rehabilitation programme targeting around 7,000 people who were arrested during the 2019 protests and unrest but who have not been charged, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told media outlets on Sunday.
It includes taking participants on trips to mainland China. In exchange for joining the programme, authorities would drop the charges against them, Tang said.
The government said in 2022 that a total of 10,279 protesters had been arrested, of whom 1,754 were aged under 18. Of the 2,893 prosecuted, 517 were minors.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Tang said that besides Cheung, other mentors from different sectors of society have also volunteered for the programme.
He said the programme was not aimed at getting participants to admit wrongdoing.
See also: Hong Kong gov’t expands rehabilitation programme for released protesters with mainland China tours
“We hope they can deepen their understanding of [China], and we can even help them in their career,” Tang told TVB in Cantonese.
“We are not setting any hard targets, such as [requiring them to go to mainland China] three or four times, or that they have to say certain things,” he said.
“[When] we think they have shown remorse, we will give them a chance,” he added. “The most important thing is their attitude.”
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