Guilty until proven innocent, as a rule?
Western law claims superiority by professing that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Putting aside the fact that this is not the exclusive contribution of western civilisation, the principle is often only selectively applied, especially where the individuals are non-westerners.
Following the news that the Hong Kong and Macau Research Institute is compiling a record of the recollections of Basic Law drafters, there has been much cynical speculation. People assume that such projects and decisions by the central authorities relating to Hong Kong's political affairs can only be detrimental to the city's interests.
Like every country in the world, the People's Republic has its share of dubious past events. Like all developing nations, it is struggling to improve the quality of life of its vast population. Given the devastated state in which it began its history, and the fact that it has almost a quarter of the world's population, without comparable resources, it is doing quite well. Any fair-minded political economist will admit that poverty hinders the rule of law while breeding corruption and ignorance.
In Hong Kong, we lucked out. And it was not democracy that gave us the rule of law and prosperity. Even where the rule of law was concerned, it was a colonial form with its inherent privileged sectors. In the 1960s, ideology gave our rule of law its particular hue, restricting various aspects of freedom. This discrimination continues to be perpetuated against similar individuals and groups both here and on the mainland.
The Basic Law drafters' basic human rights must be respected by those of us who abide by the rule of law. To claim, as some do, that their recollections could be selective and the records skewed is to betray discrimination by presuming crookedness without proof. To predict that such records are to be used dubiously by the National People's Congress Standing Committee is to exhibit contempt for it. Both attitudes speak ill of our own respect for the rule of law.
The historical value of oral history is undeniable. This compendium will also serve Hong Kong's political progress. Societies and nations develop, responding to internal and external circumstances. Communications outside the meeting room are often more decisive and carry richer information, views and analyses.
An inclusive data bank of oral history is more likely to serve Hong Kong's long-term political interest by providing, for instance, possible information on circumspections, predictions and resolutions of political circumstances deemed impossible or irrelevant at the time of the drafting. Such contributions may help future constitutional experts or bodies in their decisions for society's benefit.
Scepticism is a sign of a free and responsible citizenry. Excesses, unfortunately, could result in neuroses that neglect another's rights, interfere with the good work that is intended, warp our judgment, narrow our political horizon and hamper our vision. Moderation, an outstanding Chinese virtue, is sometimes worth embracing.
Margaret Chu is senior research officer of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute
