Letters | Hong Kong’s national security law conviction: what our readers think
- In addition to the case dealing with the national security law, our readers share their thoughts on the pressure to get vaccinated and panda diplomacy
Nine years for dangerous driving with a tatty banner
During the 1970s, I did several spells of work in Northern Ireland where terrorism was a hideous and inescapable fact of everyday life. And by “terrorism” I mean what my dictionary says it is: using violent and intimidating methods … to achieve political ends.
In Northern Ireland, violence included, for example, shooting parents dead in front of their children and planting bombs in busy shopping centres, not to mention the often bloody assassinations of police, politicians and public servants. Hardly the Hong Kong which we know and are fortunate to live in today.
Had this case come before a Northern Ireland court at the time, my guess is that Mr Tong would have been given a severe dressing down by the judge for committing the serious crime of dangerous driving and sentenced to a couple of years in prison. As for the flag, I doubt whether the court would have given the matter more than 10 minutes’ consideration despite Northern Ireland’s current strict security laws.