Hong Kong’s rule of law is safe from street rioters
Mike Rowse says contrary to some assertions, the violence in Mong Kong did not constitute an attack on one of our core values, and there is no need to rush through national security legislation
The public debate over the significance of the Mong Kok riot is being muddied because of confusion about the meaning of certain terms. For example, the “rule of law” is being used interchangeably with “rule by law” when they are actually quite different concepts. The state of law and order at any one time is another proposition altogether, and when some have seized on the incident as justifying bringing forward Article 23 legislation, what you end up with is a recipe for a muddle.
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The rule of law is the legal principle that law should govern a community, as opposed to being governed by arbitrary decisions of individual officials. It is a constraint on behaviour, including behaviour of even the most senior officials. It is an intrinsically moral notion, which implies every citizen is subject to the law, including lawmakers themselves.
Rule by law, on the other hand, is nothing more than a convenient way of governing. A prescriptive law is enacted, and thereafter shapes the subsequent actions of the administration and the community.
The state of lawlessness or public order tells us about the mores of the community we live in. We are very lucky here: crime is generally low, people settle disputes peacefully, citizens do not feel threatened when going about their private business or walking the streets late at night.
Article 23 is the section of the Basic Law which requires Hong Kong, on its own, to enact laws protecting national security. Despite claims to the contrary, these matters are not connected.
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What of the attempt to smuggle Article 23 legislation through the Mong Kok window of opportunity? I have said before that Hong Kong should enact such legislation; it is a natural thing for communities to have and there is a constitutional obligation to do so. But would such a “rule by law” measure have inhibited the rioters? I seriously doubt it. Scores have been arrested and brought before the courts using existing legislation, which is proving quite adequate, so the case for more legislation in the same area is weak to non-existent.
Universal suffrage does provide a safety valve by giving us the opportunity, every five years or so, to ‘throw the rascals out’
But there is one aspect in which a proper analysis of the context in which the riot took place should identify a serious gap in our political environment. The concept of rule of law carries with it an implied compact that ordinary citizens have a meaningful say in the selection of their leaders. The failure of the administration’s political reform package last summer means we are lumbered with a chief executive without a proper mandate. What’s more, the package deserved to fail.
It is nonsense to suggest that greater democracy is the solution to all our problems. The most we can expect is a marginal improvement in accountability and, if we are lucky, efficiency. But the one thing universal suffrage does do is provide a safety valve by giving us the opportunity, every five years or so, to “throw the rascals out”. Without such an outlet, where is the steam to go when it builds up? The answer in our case turned out to be Argyle Street. Unless we have meaningful political reform soon, there is a real danger it could all happen again.
Mike Rowse is the CEO of Treloar Enterprises and an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. [email protected]
