OpinionHong Kong government is making a mistake by dismissing the causes of Mong Kok violence

Gary Cheung calls on the administration to face up to the reasons that drove young people with few job prospects to vent their frustration

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Rioters confront police during the Mong Kok riot. Of the 75 people arrested over the rioting, about half were jobless while others were employed in low-paid jobs as, for example, cooks and salesmen. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 1:34pm, 7 Mar 2016Updated: 1:34pm, 7 Mar 2016

We should not take it for granted that those in power will learn from history.

A week after the Mong Kok riot, the government officially rejected calls by hundreds of academics and professionals for an independent committee to look into the causes of the mayhem. It argued that it was inappropriate to make direct comparisons between “the disturbances in the 1960s” and the unrest that erupted on February 8. “Hong Kong nowadays enjoys free access to information and is a highly democratic and transparent society,” a government spokesman said.

Sending those arrested to courtrooms and jail cannot guarantee the long-term stability of our society if the roots of the troubles are not identified

For unknown reasons, the government did not specify that “the disturbances in the 1960s” referred to the 1966 Star Ferry riot.

The riot, which was described by the colonial government as the “Kowloon disturbances”, was triggered by the decision to increase the five-cent ferry fare between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. During the protests, from April 5 to April 9, mobs threw stones and set fire to buses and various government facilities. The violence resulted in one death and 26 injuries. A total of 1,465 people were arrested.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Gary Cheung calls on the administration to face up to the reasons that drove young people with few job prospects to vent their frustration

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}READ MORE: ‘Street politics could tarnish Hong Kong’s image,’ NPC chairman Zhang Dejiang warns

Gary Cheung calls on the administration to face up to the reasons that drove young people with few job prospects to vent their frustration

READ MORE: ‘Street politics could tarnish Hong Kong’s image,’ NPC chairman Zhang Dejiang warns