Time to Revisit Hong Kong Law Against Abusing Police
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8 | Monday, January 18, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY COMMENTHK Rethink, readjust and restart Time to revisit Hong Kong national education campaign he key to ensuring the smooth Law Against Abusing Police and long-term successful prac- tice of “one country, two sys- tems” hinges on “one country”, Junius Ho and Kacee Ting Wong say LAAP would enable Twhich is characterized by Hong Kong residents’ recognition for their own coun- Paul Yeung officers to perform duties without being verbally abused try and national identity, or the so-called The author is senior research o cer of “reuniting people’s hearts”. The enforce- the One Country Two Systems Re- ment of the National Security Law has search Institute. ate last month, Lam protecting provisions attached to freedom e ectively cracked down on activities and Cheuk-ting was arrested by of expression are justifi ed, necessary or separatists that pose real threats to our education, since experience tells us that the ICAC for allegedly dis- reasonable in Hong Kong. national security in Hong Kong, but the the government-led national education closing the personal infor- Special reference should be made to the law can only help create a stable politi- program with a top-down approach is not mation of suspects being o ense of seditious intention in sections cal environment for “one country, two e cient. In fact, many people working in investigated by the anti- Junius Ho and Kacee Ting Wong 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance. Under systems”. “Reuniting people’s hearts” will private education, academic and cultural corruption agency in rela- Junius Ho Kwan-yiu is a Legislative Council section 10(1)(b) of the said ordinance, any have to be achieved through education. sectors are in favor of enhancing national tion to the Yuen Long mob attack in July member and a solicitor. person who utters any seditious words The anti-extradition law movement identity awareness in Hong Kong. The L2019. Lam told an ICAC arresting o cer Kacee Ting Wong is a barrister and a part- shall be guilty of an o ense. It is obvious in 2019 was a de facto anti-China unrest government can act as a facilitator to that the ICAC had become a tool for politi- time researcher of Shenzhen University Hong that national security is a reasonable and that highlighted the ine ectiveness of assist, nurture and make good use of cal persecution. He alleged that his arrest Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center. necessary ground for restricting freedom national education over the years. As these social forces. In cultivating national was a signal of the decline of the ICAC of expression. The sedition law provides a a matter of fact, national education is identity awareness, the government may and Hong Kong. Abusive though Lam’s It is hardly convincing to good precedent for us to consider whether commonplace around the world, even as well borrow a page or two from the remarks were, the only remedy available suggest that the use of abu- we should introduce LAAP to deter abus- though it may have a di erent name experience in adopting STEM education, to the hapless ICAC arresting o cer was ers from using freedom of expression as than “national education”. In Hong Kong, consult with education experts, build up moral condemnation of Lam. sive language against police an excuse to escape criminal liability. the adoption of Moral and National a comprehensive teaching framework Because of Lam’s abusive remarks, the officers is an effective way Will LAAP make police powers unlim- Education into the school curriculum in that combines Chinese culture, literature, question as to whether Hong Kong should to scrutinize the police force. ited? In the second half of 2019, the police 2011 has been consistently vilifi ed by the history and philosophy, and allocate more introduce a law to protect against the force was caught up in violent confron- “localists”, or separatists in disguise, with resources to promote the framework once abusing or insulting of law enforcement Critics have a strong inclina- tations with demonstrators and rioters lasting damage to the moral upbringing it is in place. It will serve as a platform o cers has intruded into our conscious- tion to view the enactment of in Hong Kong. Some are afraid that any of a generation. As the exercise of “one where social forces collaborate with the ness again. Four years ago, Legislative fresh attempt to discuss LAAP will inspire country, two systems” continues, we can government in setting a trend in perva- Councilors Priscilla Leung, Junius Ho and laws to free the police from more paranoia than before. Nevertheless, no longer leave national education on sive national education. Horace Cheung made a futile attempt improper public scrutiny in we should have the courage to rebut the the shelf and must bring it back online In recent years we have witnessed an to propose the Public Order (Amend- simple terms, as if every con- alleged causal link between LAAP and the policy-wise, but from a fresh perspective increasing number of exchange tours in ment) Bill to criminalize verbal abuse of extension of police power. In a number of suited to the new situation and political the mainland organized by various civic police o cers. Mr Kacee Ting has pub- cession to the police is auto- judicial review cases, the Court of Final environment. groups and organizations in Hong Kong. lished commentaries in support of this matically and necessarily a Appeal ruled that exercise of police pow- Any education policy should fi t the Today, the key to enhancing the e cacy Legislative proposal also. Unfortunately, setback for efforts to make ers should be subject to the tests of “pro- context of the social environment, other- of the exchange tours is no longer the it attracted much criticism in 2017. At portionality”, “necessity” and “reasonable- wise we are just imparting book knowl- quantity and frequency, but the quality present, critics continue to argue that the the police force accountable. ness”. We should be fully confi dent that edge that does not serve the purpose of of such activities. As such, the organizers proposed bill/law against insulting/abus- It is wrong. our Judiciary is capable of keeping a rea- inculcation. As education is increasingly should closely monitor how students feel ing police o cers (LAAP) would extend sonable check on the power of the police. politicized, it is not advisable to introduce about what they see and experience in the power of the police. In particular, It is hardly convincing to suggest that a standalone subject (Moral and National the mainland, so that their teachers and that freedom of speech would be severely ers or for the protection of national securi- the use of abusive language against police Education) to force-feed students with the guides will know how best to help them undermined. Enforcing LAAP by police in ty. As shown in this reputation-protecting o cers is an e ective way to scrutinize the need to embrace their national identity. enjoy the exchange and appreciate the public order events will also add fuel to provision, law draftsmen might have given police force. Critics have a strong inclina- Moreover, the absence of this subject in experience. To this end the government the fi re of anti-government activities. serious thought to the natural repugnance tion to view the enactment of laws to free the school curriculum framework was may invite organizers of these tours to In many common law jurisdictions, of the public at the prospect of a person the police from improper public scrutiny never the root cause of national identity share their success stories and explore non-threatening verbal abuse of a police who wrongfully uses freedom of speech in simple terms, as if every concession to unawareness among students, but rather how to enhance the e ectiveness of such o cer is not criminalized. But in Singa- as a pretext to insult others. Playing an the police is automatically and necessar- the fl awed complete-person education exchanges. Moreover, the government and pore, a common law jurisdiction, it is an indispensable role in maintaining law and ily a setback for e orts to make the police program short on national identity refer- organizations involved should stringently o ense under section 6 of the Protection order, our police force should be included force accountable. It is wrong. Firstly, the ences in all subjects. For example, Chinese monitor and assess the exchange tours, from Harassment Act for those who use in the protection list. Given the historical use of abusive language against police is language and Chinese literature lessons such as adopting empirical studies and abusive language against a public servant, origins and defensive nature of the BORO, not a proper and e ective way to make the have always been important media of quality control measures, before provid- including police o cers. Many Singapor- we may fi nd great di culty in propos- police accountable. Secondly, it may ele- Chinese culture, traditional values and ing subsidies. It will o er incentives for eans regard this provision as necessary. ing amendments to turn it into a sword vate confrontation between abusers and national sentiment. However, Chinese organizers to shift their focus from the France, a civil law jurisdiction, also has a of the Prosecution. A feasible alternative police o cers to a combustible level, espe- language lessons in Hong Kong are number of tours and participants to the law against insulting police. is to introduce LAAP to provide specifi c cially in public order events.