Chris Patten’s shots at Hong Kong’s legal system only hurt his credibility, not our judiciary’s
Grenville Cross says that the former governor’s choice to side with the protesters, rather than the justice system that convicted them, or the guards injured in the fracas, merely reflects his biases as a commentator
When interviewed by TVB News, Patten, having acknowledged Yuen’s legal right to challenge lenient sentences, then claimed he should have done nothing in this particular case, for reasons which beggar belief. “I defy anybody, when they look at the reactions around the world and in the community, to say it was a sensible thing to do,” he said.
The Court of Appeal, however, accepted Yuen’s submissions as sensible, and acted upon them. Had the judges considered that Yuen acted as he did for improper reasons, they would undoubtedly have given him short shrift.
Patten’s claim that Yuen should have done nothing, because activists’ supporters would get upset, betokens a shocking ignorance of how our legal system works. Nobody is above the law, and the idea that activists who have important friends should be allowed to escape just deserts is extraordinary, even from a layman. There cannot be one law for political activists and another for everyone else, and Yuen is to be commended for discharging his duties even-handedly, despite outside pressure and noise.
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Lip service to the rule of law notwithstanding, Patten failed to condemn a planned, protracted and violent invasion of a restricted area, and chose instead to cosy up to its perpetrators. He wholly disregarded the need for the courts in any civilised society to discourage violent public disorder through realistic sentencing.
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Moreover, although the judges hearing the sentence review faithfully discharged their duty according to law, without fear of possible backlash from outsiders, Patten, for reasons best known to himself, failed to give them any credit for upholding the rule of law in difficult circumstances.
His badmouthing of our legal system may harm Hong Kong’s standing in some places, but the real damage here is to Patten’s credibility as a serious commentator on local affairs. Friends of Hong Kong know our legal system is one of the finest in Asia, and will have no difficulty in seeing through his bluster.
Patten, unfortunately, appears to view the criminality of those whose political agenda he likes through rose-tinted spectacles. He must understand that violence is always intolerable, whoever is responsible. His comments were biased and unfair, and violate basic legal principle and practice, whether in Hong Kong or Britain.
Patten came here to promote his book, and will hopefully have sold a few copies. We must hope, however, for the readers’ sake, that the text is not as seriously flawed as were his comments about our legal system.
Grenville Cross SC is a criminal justice analyst
