Mong Kok riot is a symptom of Hong Kong’s fraying social fabric

Many of us sat appalled, eyes glued to TV screens, as scene after scene of police officers being attacked in Mong Kok appeared. Orange rubbish bins flew through the air, soon replaced by glass and bricks. A fallen officer was not spared by the angry crowd wielding sticks, some wearing hoodies in uniform colour and masks. Reporters from three TV stations were wounded. A young man on top of a car articulated in measured, mesmerising tones through a megaphone: “Here we are, local people, just trying to have some street food to celebrate the new year, and what do we get? Corrupt policemen intent on curbing our freedom.”

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He urged the crowd to rise and resist such injustice, and to rally friends to gather and help. That was midnight on the first day of the Year of the Monkey.

On the second day, one of the leaders of a Hong Kong localist group was asked during an interview whether he considered what took place to be violent, and he said, “No. Not when you consider what happens in the UK and America.”

Two issues arise from his response. First is an issue of the mind. How can striking with sticks, throwing hard objects at people in a way that can kill or maim, not be defined as violent?

Second is an issue of the heart. Granted, the attackers were frustrated and angry, but the object of their anger were men of flesh and blood, people with fathers and mothers, wives and even children, and severely outnumbered. Is there no twinge of kindness, conscience or even sense of dishonour in striking out at someone who has fallen? Or are we so far down the road that mention of words like “kindness”, “sympathy”, “honour” or “courage” are scorned in our society?

The first issue, the ability to think, reason and analyse, is like the vertical warp thread on a weaving loom. The second issue, such as integrity, honour, honesty, courage, kindness, respect and empathy for others, and concern for society, is the horizontal weft thread.

When we weave the two threads together, they form the fabric of our society. The more rigorous our reason and thinking, the tighter and more taut is our warp thread, which anchors the fabric and makes it strong. On the other hand, it is our heart, our values, which give the fabric its texture, and completes the finished piece with glorious colours. Neither can do without the other. Neglect of either one leads to the fabric becoming frayed, and ultimately falling apart.