The former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was once quoted as saying: 'A man may climb Mount Everest for himself, but at the summit he plants his country's flag.' The symbolic importance of a country's flag at moments of national honour and glory is obvious. The Hong Kong community, for instance, was in a state of euphoria when local activists managed to defy Japanese armed vessels and flew the Chinese five-star red flag on the disputed Diaoyu Islands last year.
The thorny question, however, is how much disrespect towards the flag will be tolerated by society, especially at times of public dissatisfaction with governing powers.
Hong Kong authorities have refrained from imposing any restriction against the abuse of either the Union Flag or the Chinese flag in the colony.
Protesters who put the Chinese five stars against a black background during the massive demonstrations against Beijing in the wake of the military crackdown on the student pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989 were not punished.
As recently as only two days ago, several protesters set alight the bauhinia emblem of the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to vent their discontent at the way the Chief Executive-designate Tung Chee-hwa is seeking to revise laws on civil liberties.
Ironically, the provisional legislature is deliberating on two bills that would protect national and regional flags and emblems after the change of sovereignty.