Messages

Francis T Seow:

On this day, while it is meet to remind yourselves of past injustices, it is still more important to resolve that those injustices should not be visited ever again on you, your loved ones or on the people of Singapore, howsoever cloaked by nationalistic rhetoric. It is only in that context that your reunions will serve any useful purpose.

Good luck and God bless you all.

• Mr Seow, former solicitor general and past president of the Law Society, was arrested under the Internal Security Act in 1988 and held for 72 days. The government claimed Mr Seow had been a "willing partner to acts of interference in Singapor's internal affairs by representatives of a foreign power".

Tang Fong Har:

On such a day, it's good to touch base, reflect on the past, make plans to move forward and then carry out the plans. I look forward to spending Vesak Day together with family and friends sometime in the future.

In the meantime, whilst it's not a public holiday here in Hong Kong , I shall be with you in spirit. As you may be aware, Chai Ling, one of the student leaders in the 1989 Tianamen incident, is currently here in Hong Kong on a private visit.

However, she's been giving press interviews - I must say that by and large, the Hong Kong people are proud of the openness and freedom of their society.

I should like to think the same of Singaporeans although we appear shy of demonstrating our pride in defending it. So, there's no change from what I like to see: openness and freedom of speech, movement and association.

Keep well, my friends.

• Lawyer Tang Fong Har was arrested on June 20, 1987 under the Internal Security Act and held for 85 days. She was one of the nine signatories to the joint statement issued on April 18, 1988 denying the government's charges against the detainees and describing the physical and psychological ill-treatment during their detention.