It was only the second day of the Chinese New Year when a shocking conflict took place in neighbouring Hong Kong. Officers of the government tried to enforce the law and prosecute unlicensed cooked food hawkers. Some local residents then went to the scene, hoping to protect the hawkers, and eventually clashed with the police who later deployed pepper spray and fired warning shots into the air. The protestors retaliated by throwing bricks at the law enforcement agents, as well as burnt debris on the street. The situation became uncontrollable and turned into a street riot. The incident provoked vigorous debate and cast a shadow over what is supposed to be a joyous season.
There is already an abundance of reports, columns and analyses on this so-called 'Night in Mongkok' incident, so this column has no interest in adding more noise. But I would like to use this chance to mention an interesting novel series I read – 13.67 – a detective story about the life of a Hong Kong police officer, which follows the social changes in the city, from being a British colony to a Chinese special administrative region.
The author is Hong Kong writer Chan Ho-Kei, who, despite his relatively young age, has already won several prizes, including the Soji Shimada Mystery Award, Mystery Writers of Taiwan Award and Ni Kuang Science Fiction Award.
13.67 consists of six short stories surrounding the protagonist Kwan Chun Dok and his 50-year career as a police officer. Each of the stories focuses on one individual case and the book retrogresses from 2013 to 1967, spanning half a century.
The first story in 13.67, entitled The truth between black and white (2013) starts with an elderly Kwan Chun Dok who has fallen into a coma and is in his last moments. It depicts how Kwan’s protégé, Lok Siu Ming upholds the principles of investigation and insists on finding out the truth despite being under pressure (the person involved is an affluent, well-connected businessman).
The second story, The morality of prisoners (2003) sees Kwan becoming an advisor to the Police after he retires and helping Lok investigate a murder case that involves wrestling between the police and organized crime.
The third story The longest day (1997) details a case of an acid bomb thrown from a height and the pursuit of an escaped prisoner at the time of the Hong Kong Handover. This is followed by Themis’ scale of justice (1989), about a police operation to catch a group of serious criminals; and Borrowed Place (1977) which focuses on the then newly established Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)’s fight against police corruption through a kidnapping case involving the son of an ICAC official’s son.
The sixth and final story Borrowed Time takes place during the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist riots, illustrating how the narrator and another constable “Ah Chat” tussle with bomb plotting leftists. The author eventually unveils the final puzzle, the identity of the last narrator, that serves as an paramount twist in the book and connects all six stories together, leading readers into serious contemplation.
With the police force and social conflicts as its background, covering 50 years of politics, history and economics, intertwined with clever detective fiction, 13.67 fits peculiarly with the current social situation in Hong Kong, and will surely stir up readers’ emotions.