A 'sorry law' for Hong Kong makes sense
As the lyrics to the Elton John song go, "Sorry seems to be the hardest word". In real life, too, it can be hard to say. As a result, the Justice Department has formed a steering committee, chaired by the Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, to study the need for a "sorry law" to make it easier to say the word.
As the lyrics to the Elton John song go, "Sorry seems to be the hardest word". In real life, too, it can be hard to say. As a result, the Justice Department has formed a steering committee, chaired by the Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, to study the need for a "sorry law" to make it easier to say the word. As material for jokes, it sounds comparable with the appointment of a minister for trees, as former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen was dubbed after being put in charge of a tree management office in 2008. But neither is a laughing matter. Falling branches had killed two people in two years, showing that weakened trees pose an urban threat to life and limb. And a sorry law would make it easier for public agencies to make a timely apology to people they have wronged in some way - without fear of being sued in the civil courts.
Ombudsman Alan Lai Nin says such a law might be needed to overcome official reluctance to say sorry - even where an aggrieved party would be satisfied with an apology - lest it be seen as an admission of liability. Similar laws have been in force for years in many places such as the US, Canada and Australia.
A high-profile local example involved families of victims of the Lamma ferry disaster, who were upset over the failure of a marine official to apologise for his department's shortcomings until nearly eight months after the event. He explained that he needed to seek legal advice first. A sorry law could have avoided stress on both sides. Other likely examples where a sorry law could be useful are in mediation of commercial and family disputes and of complaints against doctors.
Lawyers and insurers often advise against apologies. Former Medical Association president Dr Choi Kin says passing such a law could be a change for the better for both patients and doctors. According to Lai, the government apologised in only about 300 out of a sample of 2,200 complaints, and then only after intervention by the watchdog in 240 of them. Generally, we can do without more laws and regulations to govern our lives. But, given figures like that, a sorry law makes sense.