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A protester sits down on a Sha Tin street to make a point about non-violence, during a rally against the now-shelved extradition bill, on July 14. The posters on the ground call on demonstrators to give up violence and protest peacefully. Photo: Edmond So
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong extradition bill protests blurring the lines between peaceful picket and mob riot

  • Protesters and their supporters must see that rights come with duties for trust to thrive between the people and government
  • This applies to ‘one country, two systems’ as well
Hong Kong extradition bill
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP
I refer to Ms Gauri Venkitaraman’s letter (“How a city demanding its rights can leave Singapore puzzled”, July 4) in response to Mr Leslie Fong’s article (“The view from Singapore: Hong Kong is a city tearing itself apart”, June 21).
There are enough Singaporeans who empathise with the frustrations of the average Hongkonger over a slew of issues, including the extradition bill, and understand why around a third of the city’s population has taken to the streets to vent collective anger and concern.

Unlike in Singapore and other democracies, Hong Kong does not have universal suffrage. The Hong Kong chief executive and administration are effectively selected by Beijing via proxies. The civil liberties that Hongkongers have long enjoyed in a peaceful, constructive and civilised manner, despite not having the right to exercise power at the ballot box like Singaporeans, are under serious threat.

Nevertheless, in a city like Hong Kong that takes great pride in its rule of law, I trust that Ms Venkitaraman can discern the difference between simply voicing one’s opposition via nonviolent street protests and taking the law into one’s own hands.

Unfortunately, the line between a peaceful picket and a riotous mob appears to have grown blurrier for a segment of protesters.
Unless Hongkongers are prepared to deal with the consequences of such violence and anarchy to salvage what they deem to be their rights according to the Basic Law, cooler heads must prevail to explore other options to protect these rights, including mining the efficacy of the 1984 Joint Declaration between Britain and China as a legally binding international treaty.

Exercising one’s rights and fulfilling one’s responsibilities are inevitably two sides of the same coin in any sociopolitical system to maintain trust between the state and the people. This is true also of the “one country, two systems” formula.

John Chan, Singapore

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