Hong Kong Democrat beaten up with baseball bats

HONG KONG, Aug 21: Four men armed with baseball bats and batons beat up a prominent Democrat in Hong Kong, but his party today played down the possibility of a political motive.

Albert Ho, vice chairman of the Democratic Party and a member of Hong Kong's legislature, was recovering in hospital after the attack at a downtown McDonald's.

''We don't think that the attack relates to big politics,'' said the leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Wing-tat. ''It isn't to do with the Beijing government or the (Hong Kong) government.'' Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms but senior Chinese officials have often accused pro-democracy activists and lawmakers of disloyalty.

Ho was treated for bruises, black eyes and swollen lips and Lee said he had a broken nose.

''There were four men altogether. One stood in the entrance, as a guard ... and three other men attacked him,'' Lee said. ''They were very professional and did it in a clean manner. They wore gloves to hold the baseball bats and they wore caps that were pulled down low so you couldn't see their faces.'' Lee said the attack was likely related to Ho's work as a lawyer on several sensitive cases, including land disputes in the northern New Territories.

Ho and his office staff had in the past been the victims of harassment by thugs, Lee said, but not violence.

Reuters