Hong Kong resident Peter Bentley. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG — One year on, Hong Kong resident Peter Bentley often remembers the shocking scenes of violence that brought him to tears.

On July 1, 2019, the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, large groups of rioters stormed the Legislative Council (LegCo) building of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and wreaked havoc inside, marking one of the most provocative and offensive crimes during months of disturbances last year.

In this July 1, 2019 photo, protesters try ram a trolley laden with flattened cardboard boxes in an attempt to shatter the glass-fronted entrance to Hong Kong's Legislative Council complex in Admiralty. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Not just westerners like me who have lived here most of their lives, but a lot of mature, sensible and patriotic Hong Kong people who felt the same 

Peter Bentley, a British expatriate in Hong Kong

Passing by the wreaked building the following morning, Bentley, in his early 70s, was invited to express his views on camera. During the interview, Bentley said he cried when watching the ugly scenes on TV and pointed out that no one has the right to commit such acts of violence.

"It broke my heart to see the damage... and I just said what was on my heart," Bentley told Xinhua when recalling the unexpected interview.

Bentley, a British expatriate in Hong Kong, has a strong connection to both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

He first came to Hong Kong in 1981 and started to work in the mainland for an international vacuum technology company as an engineering specialist in the mid 1980s. Since his retirement in 2013, he has resided more in Hong Kong, experiencing the illegal "Occupy Central" movement in 2014 and the prolonged upheaval in 2019.

He was deeply concerned about Hong Kong being plunged into political turmoil and condemned the myriad rampant acts of violence that undermined the cornerstone of Hong Kong, including the rule of law, safety and freedom, among others.

After the interview went viral on the internet, Bentley was frequently recognized by strangers on the streets who wanted to shake his hand and express their deep gratitude to him for speaking out on their behalf.

"I think I was actually speaking for a lot of Hong Kong people," Bentley said. "Not just westerners like me who have lived here most of their lives, but a lot of mature, sensible and patriotic Hong Kong people who felt the same."

Although the sudden popularity made him a little embarrassed, Bentley said he did not regret speaking up. "Because I believe it really helped spark the feeling among mature people who love Hong Kong and who love China that they're not alone."

Stanley Ng Chau-pei, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress shows his support of the national security legislation after signed a petition at a street stand in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on May 29, 2020. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

NOTHING TO FEAR

As an upcoming national security law for Hong Kong stoked concerns about the freedoms and rights of the residents, Bentley said there is no need to worry and believes the legislation will on the contrary help Hong Kong, which used to be one of the freest and safest places in the world, to regain its glory.

"It's a non-question as to whether anyone should be scared," Bentley said.

"Every modern country in the world... has something equivalent to the national security law to prevent sedition, to prevent anarchy, to prevent insurrection and to prevent all the things which the new law (for Hong Kong) will make illegal," he said. "Why shouldn't Hong Kong (as a part of China) have a law like that?"

Bentley believes there will be "practically zero difference to everyone's life" and Hong Kong can truly restore peace and order from a chaotic 2019 after the legislation.

"The great majority of Hong Kong people, at least 95 percent, will breathe a huge sigh of relief to say 'thank goodness'" as there will hopefully be no more riots on the streets and no political tricks in the LegCo and people will finally be able to get business done, he said.

Bentley pointed out that only those genuinely trying to subvert the nation and promoting "Hong Kong independence" should be afraid.

Scenes along the Victoria Harbour capture the beauty of Hong Kong. (DAN CHUNG FOR CHINA DAILY)

WITNESSING THE RISE

Over the past nearly four decades, Bentley traveled frequently between the mainland and Hong Kong, witnessing the mainland's rapid development since the reform and opening-up and the continued prosperity of Hong Kong after its return to the motherland in 1997.

Bentley recalled a train trip back from Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, to Hong Kong in the early 1980s, which for the first time showed him the development gap between the two places.

Looking through the window of the train as it ran through Guangdong, he saw expanses of green fields and little development, Bentley said. "Suddenly we hit Hong Kong with all the modern built-up buildings. That was a bit of a shock."

However, the image Bentley had of China being an agricultural country in those days is now far removed.

Bentley has always been caught in surprise by the rapid development of the mainland, with superhighways, skyscrapers and modern airports built at an unprecedented pace across the country.

"If you leave any Chinese city for more than six months or a year, when you come back you can't recognize it sometimes," Bentley said.

Riding the wave of China's economic miracle, the company Bentley worked for also flourished in the mainland market.

With the first office set up in Guangzhou in the mid 1980s, the company went on to forge close partnerships with homegrown businesses and established dozens of factories and joint ventures. Its revenues in the mainland became equivalent to that of the European market.

Bentley attributed the company's success to the decision to build its presence in the mainland at such an early time.

The company was just one of the numerous foreign businesses entering the mainland markets since the reform and opening-up, a large proportion of which established and expanded their regional headquarters in Hong Kong to take advantage of its close ties with the mainland, as well as its high-quality talent, financial resources and professional services.

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Under "one country, two systems," Hong Kong has retained its position as a global financial, commercial and shipping center and continued to make progress after returning to the motherland.

"Hong Kong obviously owes its success to the fact that it is physically part of China," Bentley said.

Broken pieces of glass scatter on the road after a window of a clothing store was smashed by anti-government protesters during an illegal assembly in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, May 24, 2020. (PHOTO/CHINA DAILY)

WORDS TO THE YOUTH

During the months of disturbances in Hong Kong last year, shops and restaurants were trashed, public facilities vandalized, and police officers and innocent residents ferociously attacked.

"Hong Kong had been one of the most peaceful and safest cities until the riots," Bentley said.

Bentley was particularly worried about the involvement of youngsters in the violence and urged them to cherish their lives in Hong Kong, which, as a place to call home, is the envy of many youngsters living elsewhere in the world.

"They think they are fighting for democracy and freedom, but in fact they are being used by politicians and foreign forces who have their own private agendas," Bentley said. "They are bewitched by propaganda advocating violence and hatred towards the mainland."

Having worked and lived in the mainland for more than 30 years, Bentley called on young people to drop the idealized image of Hong Kong under British colonial rule, forget biased media reports about the mainland, and see for themselves what their country is really like.

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Bentley said he had also been misled by negative media reports about the mainland but eventually found out the truth after going there himself.

"When I started going to China on business, I found it was completely different from what I'd read in the newspapers," he said, stressing that he was impressed by seeing genuinely happy people and the incredibly fast progress the mainland had made.

"Go there and see the real country. And then make your own judgment. You will be surprised at what you find," he said.