Opinion | When both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of tolerating violence, Hong Kong is in danger
- Tolerance of violence is increasingly becoming an indicator of loyalty for both blue and yellow ribbons. Hong Kong needs both sides to reflect and recommit to the principle of respect for non-violent civil disobedience
Dickens compared the government of pre-revolution France to a rustic person who “raised the Devil with infinite pains, and was so terrified at the sight of him that he … immediately fled”. Now, as then, I fear the government of Hong Kong is reciting the Lord’s Prayer backwards with a completely unwarranted assumption that it is creating order rather than chaos.
The government should be receiving critical feedback from its own supporters but that has not been forthcoming – largely because, if they want to avoid rejection by their peers, blue ribbon supporters must now silently accept this kind of behaviour, along with police violence.
On both sides of the political spectrum in Hong Kong, tolerance of violence is increasingly becoming an indicator of political loyalty. It has become fashionable to decry the violence of the other side, while denying or playing down the violence carried out by those on the same side.
A denial of violence from those on the same side has become a qualification for group acceptance. Among the pro-government blue ribbons, people who criticise police violence are bullied and labelled “yellow” or worse. Among the pro-democracy yellow ribbons, people who criticise violence by protesters are bullied and labelled “blue”. Vocal critics in both camps end up fearing being the victims of violence themselves.
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