Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has visited the man who was set on fire by radical protesters last month, bringing the victim his handwritten card.

Chan also gave encouraging words to the victim’s wife during Saturday’s low-key visit to the hospital where the victim is recovering, which was revealed in a message posted by pro-Beijing legislator Elizabeth Quat on her Facebook page on Sunday.
Quat, who has been helping the man, who cannot be named because of a court order, said she accompanied Chan during his visit.

The 57-year-old construction worker was involved in an argument with masked protesters who rampaged through Ma On Shan MTR station on November 11. Online television footage showed the father of two being doused with flammable liquid and set alight.

He was sent to hospital in critical condition with burns to at least a third of his body. He has undergone three rounds of skin grafts and is recovering.

In her Facebook post, Quat said the financial secretary was very concerned about the man’s recovery.

“He had asked me about [the man’s] condition several times before,” she wrote. “[Chan] also brought a handwritten card to him and also gave some encouraging words to his wife. The man was very pleased when he saw the financial secretary.”

A picture posted on Quat’s Facebook page showed the man sitting up, with both of his hands wrapped up in gauze. On his face were patches of new skin and burn marks. The picture did not show Chan however.

Quat said the man wanted to thank the public for their care and support.

Quat could not be reached for further comment on Sunday, while a spokesman for Chan said the visit was “purely private”, and there was no further information or comment.

Hong Kong has been rocked by months of social unrest, sparked by a controversial extradition bill. The bill has been withdrawn, but the protests have morphed into an increasingly violent anti-government movement.

Meanwhile, in a piece posted on his official blog on Sunday, Chan called on protesters to stop the violence and vandalism.
“No matter what our differences may be, we are always able to find a way out by holding talks, negotiating, and discussion,” he said.

He expressed concern that overseas investors could lose patience waiting for Hong Kong to recover, and might take their money elsewhere, if the city could not get out of a state of “violence” and “paralysis”.