Hong Kong must strive to educate, engage young people on rule of law and dangers of ‘mob rule’, city’s top judge says at Legal Week forum
- Chief Justice Andrew Cheung says rule of law often subject to interpretations, but matters can easily get out of hand through misinformation
- City leader John Lee also stresses importance for society to safeguard national interests, capping off week-long annual legal gathering
Hong Kong should strive to educate and engage young people about the rule of law and let them understand why it is superior to the “rule of man or mob rule”, the city’s top judge has said at a week-long flagship forum.
Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung underscored the responsibilities of authorities at Legal Week 2022 on Friday, the last day of the event, as city leader John Lee Ka-Chiu called on society to safeguard national sovereignty and interests.
Cheung stressed the importance of ramping up education in schools, calling them “a microcosm of society”. “As such, they are the perfect environment in which young people ought to be engaged in thinking about the rule of law, its purpose and benefits, and why the rule of law is superior to, say, the rule of man, mob rule or rule by law,” he said.
The city is still dealing with the aftermath of the social unrest from the 2019 anti-government protests, during which thousands of young people were arrested for various offences, from rioting to vandalism.
The government has mostly blamed misplaced grievances and online incitements for the chaos that year, though Western governments have accused the city of clamping down on freedoms.
On Friday, Cheung acknowledged that the rule of law often came under various interpretations, but warned that matters could easily get out of hand in the current day and age.
“In this information technology-driven era, bias and misinformation are just as easily spread, if not more easily spread, than information,” he said.