Letters | Protecting Hong Kong’s rule of law or backing mob rule? Democracy comes with its own list of duties

Hong Kong extradition bill

Letters

Published: 1:00pm, 9 Jul 2019

Why you can trust SCMP

In recent weeks, the international spotlight has been on a small Asian city, my beloved home Hong Kong, because of hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in the name of civil disobedience. As a university student in Britain, I recall one of my lectures on politics, where I learned that democracy comes with heavy obligations. If we have the right to vote, we are also duty bound to respect the results of an election.

I am deeply suspicious of some political activists in Hong Kong who profess to champion democracy. On the one hand, they appear to be strong proponents of universal suffrage. But on the other hand, they go out of their way to filibuster, disrupt normal lawmaking processes, and even vandalise the Legislative Council complex. As such, they show utter contempt for, and distrust of, our democratically elected legislature and well-established meritocracy.

I was also taught that civil disobedience goes against representative democracy and is a complicated concept. One should not break the law arbitrarily for selfish reasons. Besides, perpetrators must be willing to accept the consequences, to demonstrate sincerity and good faith in their actions. Funnily enough, our protesters in Hong Kong have been the total opposite, demanding an amnesty for all and wearing face masks to conceal their identities in various stand-offs with law enforcers.

Those in the opposition camp always say they cherish judicial independence and neutrality in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, to forgo a fair trial would mean compromising the system of legitimate arrests and prosecutions, and slapping our dutiful police in the face. I regard it as mere grandstanding to advocate the rule of law while setting an example of mob rule.

Indeed, democracy is a double-edged sword. It allows society to enjoy liberty and diversity, as well as freedom from both despotism and elitism. But members of a democratic society have an obligation to observe the rules. Otherwise, democracy will become offensive and destructive, making a government indecisive and stagnating social progress. So, when will our bigoted, narrow-minded youngsters come to their senses?

Norman Wan, Aberdeen

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