Letters | The real threat to the rule of law in Hong Kong? It is not the protesters
- Hongkongers have a deep respect for the law and proper procedure, and it would take something much bigger than unwise acts of violence by a minority to change that
- What would destroy Hong Kong’s rule of law would be authoritarian government actions
The scenes of protesters vandalising the Legislative Council building on July 1 might seem shocking and radical in an otherwise peaceful city like Hong Kong. Hongkongers are proud of their obedience of rules and order. On June 16, they showed the world how disciplined they were when tens of thousands of anti-extradition bill protesters made way for an ambulance to go through.
Yet, violence seems to have played a more visible part in protests in recent years, making many people concerned about its potential ramifications for Hong Kong’s rule of law. The Hong Kong and central governments have reinforced this concern by accusing the angry young Hongkongers who broke into the legislative building of “trampling on the rule of law”. But would those violent acts really, in and of themselves, undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law?
There is no denying that a region cannot maintain the rule of law if its citizens don’t obey the law. But Hong Kong’s rule of law – different from the mainland’s rule by law – is much deeper than that.
Indeed, the deeper, more fundamental aspects of the city’s rule of law are what define Hong Kong and make it the commercial hub it is today: freedom of speech, judicial independence, due process, political neutrality of civil servants and police, and public consultations on major government policies.